Public Service Announcment: Fuck Chipper Jones by J.Senno of Trash Talk Sports

 

The story goes that when Larry ‘Chipper’ Jones was drafted number 1 by the Atlanta Braves in 1990, he had no agent and his father negotiated that first deal. Chipper’s father told him he could get a lot more money, but Chipper seeing the big picture knew he wanted to just play right away and the money would come later. This regaling tale should endear me to Chipper Jones, but instead it just pisses me off because as a Mets fan I think that we could have been saved from the onslaught of Chipper if not for that infernal Todd Van Poppel.  I know at this point as a “fan” I am supposed to have grown past the hatred and learned to appreciate his career, but fuck him, and you know what I’m calling him Larry for the rest of this article.

Van Poppel was supposed to be the #1 pick, but he wanted too much money so the Braves ‘settled’ on Jones. Now, maybe if Van Poppel is in the Braves’ system, much like Justin Timberlake’s character in ‘Trouble with the Curve’, his career takes a different trajectory. But as it stands he was a putrid 40-52 with a 5.58 ERA with an all time WAR of -1.7. He is compared in Baseball Reference to the immortal Pat Mahomes and the insufferable Tanyon Sturze.  Larry Jones on the other hand finished with a .303 Batting Average, 468 Homeruns, and 1600 RBI’s, and an all-time WAR of 82.6. Jones is compared on the same baseball reference to hall of Famers Mel Ott, Mike Schmidt, and Al Kaline.

Now, Larry Jones had the audacity to name his son Shea. To be honest if a Mets player had named their kid Turner because they dominated the Braves in the 90’s, I would have thought it was awesome, but as we all know this is devastatingly untrue.  So why hate Larry? He didn’t do anything personally to me. Sure he did, he haunted my dreams, and he took joy out of my life during a tough run through puberty when I could have used something to be happy about.

From 96-01 he hit over .350 in every season against the Mets racking up 19 Homers and 57 RBI’s in 86 games.  This equates to roughly 28 Homeruns, 84 RBI’s and a .370 Batting Average over the course of 162 games. During that time period he averaged a .313 Batting Average, 34 Homeruns, and 108 RBI’s, so really his performance against the Mets was maybe a bit above par for the course for him, but nothing earth shattering. So why does it feel like he only terrorized the Mets if his career stats against the Phillies are nearly identical.

Year	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Mets	245	237	858	168	265	46	4	49	159	20	5	147	134	0.31	0.4	0.543	0.949
Year	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Phillies	245	237	846	166	280	71	3	49	152	6	2	169	141	0.33	0.4	0.596	1.036

Larry could have easily named his kid ‘Veteran’ and it would be equally plausible. I mean, your name is Larry and you don’t go by it so what rules are you playing by anyway.

Its’ like a bully at school, it doesn’t take away from any grief if last season Jimmy gave you 27 wedgies and 16 swirlies, but little Timmy got 25 wedgies and 15 swirlies. The fact remains nobody wants their head shoved in a toilet and nobody wants to be beat consistently even if they are doing it to everyone else. It also hurts so much more because he never goes away, with a bully you would hope he would go to a different junior high or move out of town or eventually you would grow to defend yourself, but it never happened. Year in and year out he is waiting for the poor Mets by their locker ready to embarrass them in front of everyone, and every year the Mets would let him.

The problem is that the Mets haven’t gotten any stronger; they are just as susceptible for another bully to come in and destroy their spirit. Ladies and gentleman I bring you Bryce Aron Max Harper. He is destined to pulverize the Mets in a truly comic way. He hit .295 against the Mets with 3 Homeruns and 11 RBI’s so he is prime and ready to take the douchebag baton. Larry Jones was a villain in a pg-13 Varsity Blues sort of a way, he was southern, he was arrogant, but ultimately he was soft spoken and respectful. He would do that, that prick, just so I can’t hate him with all my heart. Harper on the other hand is poised to play foil for the next 20 years for the Mets, he is the Cobra Kai, except the Mets have no Mr. Miagi. He is more athletic, faster, intense and astonishingly more diabolical as he is breaking teammate’s hands on high fives.

The only difference is now I am ready for disappointment this time. I won’t be hurt (I keep telling myself that anyway). I am ‘emotionally unavailable’ as a Mets fan, it’s the only way I can protect myself. The Mets only hope is to get a bully of their own to protect them, something they have not had since Darryl Strawberry and the Mets of the late 80s. Until then, I will accept the swirlies Harper gives me as a fan and thank him for thinking of me. Fuck!

J.Senno

Trash Talk Sports

Lebron : A Delusionary Tale by J. Senno of Trash Talk Sports

“A delusion is something that people believe in despite a total lack of evidence.” That is a quote from Richard Dawkins that is very apropos in an age where most people get their news from a feed on Facebook. We as a society take a fragment of an argument that we remember and regurgitate it in a haphazard manner that dilutes, discounts, or even changes the message, similar to what Tim ‘The Tool Man’ Taylor used to do with Wilson’s advice on Home Improvement.  So when we hear over and over that Richard Gere shoved a gerbil in his ass, or Jamie Lee Curtis is a hermaphrodite, or that Lebron James isn’t clutch, we don’t delve deeper into it because what fun is truth when lies are so delightfully titillating.

Lebron came into the league as the most hyped player to ever pan out. From his very first game we could see he was something special. He ran the floor with the ease and speed of Scottie Pippen, he had vision of the court like Magic, he had the strength of Karl Malone, the jumping ability of Dominique, and the ability to score at will and attack the rim like Jordan.  In his first year he helped increase Cleveland’s win total by 18 wins from the previous year and showed a basketball IQ that was well beyond his young age.  They improved the next year to 42 wins in 2004-05, then 50 wins and a finals loss in 06-07, then 2 straight 60 win seasons. All the while he was carrying a bunch of has been and never was players up and down the court while being coached by Bunson from the Muppets (Mike Brown).  The best player he had was Carlos Boozer early in his career who left to go hang out with Mormons and color in his hairline with a sharpie (Lebron should try this instead of hanging out to scraps like Malone did).  There were some people who didn’t like him but these were soulless contrarians like Skip Bayless who will argue that pizza sucks and babies are stupid if they think it will piss you off.

All the while he was the symbol for good that Batman wished of Harvey Dent. He didn’t drive drunk, he didn’t get involved in domestic disputes, he didn’t try to make a rap album and at no point did he ever rape anyone.  He was well liked and a media darling, but our society is cynical and after awhile we get bored with something if there is no dirty laundry. Even Hulk Hogan had to stop telling us to eat our vitamins and say our prayers for us to begin to appreciate him again.

The only difference is Hulk was asking for it, he was spray painting people, yelling at fans, and demanding you hate him whereas Lebron was still asking for us to cheer him. Men complain that girls don’t like nice guys, but neither do we, why else would we be so fascinated by Charles Barkley and John Daley.  It was time for his turn to heel and if he wasn’t going to give us reasons then we would create them.

It started with Lebron taking off his jersey and walking off the court after another tough loss in a series where he did as much as he could to help his team lose.  I am a sore loser and never shook hands with the opposing team after a loss so I didn’t understand what the big deal was anyway.  Then there was the decision which was reviled as shameless self promotion where all the proceeds went to charity. In a different world with a different media these stories could have been covered differently. Lebron walking off the court should have been covered as him being an intense competitor who was tired of losing and ‘The decision’ could be seen as a necessary evil in an attempt to give back to the community.

Everyone has that one friend that no matter what they do it just pisses you off. “Oh he bought me a beer, he would do that just so I look like a jerk when I say I don’t like him what a prick.” Lebron became that friend; if he was walking and he stepped on a crack we knew it was to break his mother’s back for what she did to Delonte West.

He still kept going out and putting up points and playing solid defense, but we even started to attack his play for the first time. It was like a girl who bragged how good her boyfriend was in bed and how big his penis was, but now that she was tired and wanted to move all of the sudden ‘he’s not that big and he’s actually kind of selfish.’  Now Lebron was not clutch and he was ‘afraid’ to take the big shot.  When Jordan passed it to Paxson for a 3 he was a selfless visionary, when Lebron passed it to Ray Allen for a 3 in a crucial moment he was a scared little bitch.

After awhile it started to get to him because if you hear something enough you start to believe it. Like the boyfriend who continues to hear he is not that good in bed he started to press and got out of his element and what did he get a bunch of failed rim-jobs. Two things can happen with stress, the first is you can express it outward which we respect as a society because it shows you have balls when you start yelling at people and manning up. The other way you can handle it is turn it inward which he did, he became aloof and reserved when he had always been affable and gregarious.  We as ‘fans,‘ ‘analysts,’  ‘announcers,’ and humans did it we broke him…. or so we thought.

Lebron tuned us out, he tuned us all out and took the stance ‘Oh if its fuck me, then you know its fuck you.’ Finally he didn’t want us, didn’t need us, and we were smitten all over again. We were like school girls waiting at his locker asking if he was going to the party later, and he was saying to us ‘I don’t know, maybe I’ll catch you later.’ Now we had the vapors again, so we switched the script, now he was a driven freak of nature brought here to play basketball for our joy and adulation. The Heat won the title and people were coming out of the woodwork to say they always believed.

There was the quick synopsis of Lebron’s career the soap opera version of it. Now that we got through exposition part lets get to the exciting part … Math.  First lets address this clutch argument because it is preposterous, Lebrons’ win shares go up from .235 in the regular season to .243 in the playoffs, if you don’t like ‘new’ stats, how about this his points, blocks, and rebounds all go up in the playoffs with assists and steals staying stagnant.  Since 2000 he has shot 46% in clutch moments as opposed to 39.7% for Kobe and since 2006 he has hit 46.6%. Lebron has also shot 41% on game winning shots versus Kobe at a mere 25%. Look at the graph below with his stats in clutch situations. He has been the top 5 in scoring in these situations which would be pretty hard if he in fact was ‘scared to miss the big shot.’

year	pts per 48 minutes	Shooting %	rank
2011-2012	40.4	45.3	5
2010-2011	45.1	43.6	4
2009-2010	66.1	48.8	1
2008-2009	55.9	55.6	2
2007-2008	74.9	48.4	1

Ok now that we got that out of the way lets go to the next argument, ‘he is not a winner.’ When he left the Cavaliers they won 19 games after winning 67 with him the year before that’s a 352% decrease. Take any player off any other team and it doesn’t have that effect. Without Jordan the Bulls still made the playoffs and made decent runs behind Kukoc and Pippen. If you use the argument that those guys were better than the guys Lebron left in Cleveland it just furthers my point that nobody could have won with that scrap yard of a team. Jordan only had 1 title at this point, Bryant rode Shaq’s prime to 3 titles at this point before a 7 year break so he still has time to catch up to these guys.

The next argument you here is yeah Lebron is great, but he will never be able to touch Jordan or for that matter Kobe. See the chart below this is up to 28 years of age. Jordan has the edge over Lebron in shooting percentage, steals, blocks, pts per game, and win shares. Lebron has the edge in rebounds and assists. Looser rules on hand checking could be argued helped Jordan’s steals, but it hurt his scoring so it’s a moot point.

Name	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	ws
Lebron	719	718	28648	0.486	0.334	0.746	5200	4963	1242	608	2385	1370	19839	140
Lebron	719	718	39.8	0.486	0.334	0.746	7.2	6.9	1.7	0.8	3.3	1.9	27.6	0.235
Kobe	784	636	28379	0.453	0.337	0.838	4073	3561	1170	467	2285	2111	19296	110
Kobe	784	636	36.2	0.453	0.337	0.838	5.2	4.5	1.5	0.6	2.9	2.7	24.6	0.186
Michael	589	578	22775	0.519	0.284	0.847	3697	3507	1594	623	1799	1756	19000	130.4
Michael	589	578	38.7	0.519	0.284	0.847	6.3	6	2.7	1.1	3.1	3	32.3	0.275

At this point Michael has Lebron overall and Lebron obviously has the edge over Kobe in overall performance. Clutch moment statistics don’t go back as far on 82games to Jordan’s hey-day, but some websites report that he shot 50-55% in the clutch which I can certainly believe. So the edge goes to Jordan as far as pure efficiency and player.

But what about overall legacy, does longevity trump dominance? There will always be the ‘what if’ argument for Jordan since he retired twice, once while in his prime. We could try to quantify his statistics and extrapolate them over the years he missed, but who knows if his knees hold up for his Wizards run and we can only truly measure the statistics for when he was on the court. Hank Aaron had the homerun record and then Barry Bonds, but most people wouldn’t consider them better homerun hitters than Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, or even Ralph Kiner in his short run (look it up.)

Lebron has been amazingly durable and has played in over 90% of his games in every season. He also has the frame where he can adapt and have longevity playing more in the block. Its’ upsetting that we lost several years of Jordan’s career, but below you will see at what age Lebron will catch Kobe and Michael’s count statistics and when Kobe catches Michael.

Legacy	FGA	3PM	FTM	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	ws
Lebron will catch Kobe at 34	33	33	31	33	29	30	29	31	28	32	30
Lebron will catch Michael at 39	33	28	31	36	29	31	29	37	32	33	33
Kobe will catch Michael at 39	34	34	34	37	34	35	34	40	41	35	39

As you can see Lebron is at least a year ahead of Kobe in every statistics with some like blocks, assists, rebounds and win shares where he is not far behind. As far as Michael, if Lebron continues on his pace he will pass Michael in most areas by 33 with only steals and offensive rebounds taking longer. Both Kobe and Lebron had the advantage of starting their career earlier and not taking sabbaticals. It is the age long question of quantity over quality. Karl Malone stayed around a long time and is 2nd all time in points scored ahead of Jordan does that make him a better scorer than Jordan, no. Does the fact that he has the 3rd highest win shares ahead of Jordan mean he was more valuable than Jordan, no.

“People ask me if I could fly, I said, yeah.. for a little while.” Michael Jordan said that and it is very fitting to describe his career. He did fly and fly higher than anyone for a little while and at the end of the day we will remember the light that shines brightest even if it is for a shorter time.

Alot of the time you will hear, “you have to try this burger it’s the best,’ or ‘that restaurant has the best sushi” and sometimes I am reluctant to try it. My issues with are twofold, first because what you say is the best, is the best fit for you, or best based on your preferences. My second issue is once something is the best in your mind won’t everything else pale in comparison. Now I will only be fully satisfied with that one burger or one place for sushi. Even with all these statistics available today it is still subjective who is the best player, some people argue Magic, some argue Jordan or Russell, and I think when it is all said and done Lebron will be in the conversation. All I’m asking is when that conversation comes up we don’t point out that Lebron, ‘wasn’t clutch’ or wasn’t a ‘winner’. Right now Lebron is a rodeo burger from Burger King and Michael is a Big Mac, both very enjoyable in their own way. To me, so far, I am not willing to label anyone the best basketball player or best burger because I want to be able to enjoy the here and now, and preferences change, at one time I detested olives now I consider them with indifference, now that’s a change we can believe in.

J. Senno

Trash Talk Sports

Giants look to get back on playoff track after an embarassing loss by T.D. Hawks of Trash Talk Sports

A missed field goal from 30 yards, two interceptions, and three 4^th down attempt failures and it was over! To make it worse, it all started with a bad pass on only the second play of the game. They did make it to the red zone, but came out each time with a doughnut and even less momentum. The Giants are a team that is based on Eli Mannning. If he is not performing then the whole team suffers. Eli was on the field for only 1/3 of the game and that killed their defense. Those guys were sucking wind. The way the defense is set up is to get at the QB fast. If you are out there for 40 minutes, getting at the QB becomes more and more difficult.

The recipe for getting shut out: 1 underperforming QB, 4 exhausted d-linemen and a dash of an injured secondary.

Getting shut out so close to the end of the season and with the playoffs on the line is a good way to get motivated.  Well that is what I and every other Giants fan are hoping. They now have to win their last two games to make it in. So let’s start with Baltimore.

Even with a playoff berth, the Ravens will definitely be out to get at the Giants this week. A Manning brother came to town last week and provided them with a ripe ass beating. And Harbaugh wants a little revenge for his own brother.  A win for the Ravens may or may not come easy. If the Giants show up with the same attitude as last week then I will be hitting the bottle a bit harder on Sunday. If the Ravens face the same team as the other Harbaugh, then it is going to be a long day for Baltimore. The Ravens have a tough choice this week. They have already clinched a playoff spot and whether they win or lose their seed will not change. They also have a great amount of injuries. But have lost 3 straight and want to go into the playoffs with some momentum. What to do? Rest your injured team or risk it for the pride of winning a meaningless game. The Giants, I’m sure, would not mind a lax Ravens team, but from a fan’s standpoint I do not think they deserve an easy win.

The time has come for the Super Bowl winning Giants to come back to the field. The Ravens are the first team in the way for the six wins needs to get another Lombardi trophy. And this is how the first win is going to come:

Offense:

Ahmad Bradshaw makes his return this week, and with Wilson sharing the carries, the Giants should have no problem running all over the 26^th ranked rushing defense of the Ravens. But this week is going to be on Eli’s shoulders. He needs to redeem himself after last week and an overall bad second half of the season. It is now crunch time and this is when Eli shows his true self; a DB shredding monster, beware the Eli.

Defense:

Prince and Kenny make their return to the secondary this week. With everyone being covered and Flacco having no time to throw the ball, due to the pass rush, the job of the defense this week is to stop the running game of Ray Rice. He has the potential to blow up so they must hold him at bay.

 

The Giants are healthy and coming off an embarrassing loss. This is the perfect time start to a six game run. Let’s go!

Giants – 42        Ravens – 10

 

T.D. Hawks

Trash Talk Sports

 

 

 

Week 14 Power Spankings by M.Barr of Trash Talk Sports

You know, for a team that has recently been the butt of everyone’s joke, the Shit Show that is the New York Jets somehow find themselves involved in playoff scenario talks. How fucking unreal is that? Or better yet, there are 13 teams in the NFL with a worse record than the Jets, teams whose player’s actions have disgraced their organizations and still, the Jets are crucified, for what, the Tebow debacle? Get over it. And in all honesty, while everyone else was busy getting fat off their rinky dink schedules early on, the Jets were battling Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston, Seattle and New England who they played twice. That’s a pretty tough fucking lineup for anyone, whether the games were played at home or on the road. Did I mention how limited the Jets were on talent? Did I mention we have a pussy for a QB? Did I mention our best players on both sides of the ball went down early on for the duration of season? So laugh it up fuckers, because now it’s our turn to prey on the weak, and if we happen to pull off the improbable feat of running the table and having shit fall into place for us so that we may snatch the final playoff spot, I’ll be looking for my boys to rock out with their cocks out simply because they are somewhere no one expected them to be, and anything can happen there. Here is the deal:

How Pittsburgh can help: Lose two of their final 3 games. Bottom line here is Pittsburgh cannot win 9 games. That will leave us fucked, as they own the head to head against the Jets. Who does Pittsburgh play? @DAL, VS Cincinnati, VS Cleveland, no cake walk.

How Cincinnati can help: I’m not sure how it works with Cincy if they were to win 9 games, but I do know we need them to lose their final two games so that tie breakers are a non-issue. They close the season with two brutal division games, one of them being against Pittsburgh @ Heinz Field and then they host the Ravens for the final game of their regular season. LET’S HOPE HARBOUGH PLAYS HIS STARTERS! The Bengals are in a similar position the Jets were in back in ’09.

Long shot with Colts: Should the Colts fall apart at the seams and lose their final 3 games, it would give us the edge over them as we whooped that ass earlier on this season. So if Pittsburgh ends up 9-7 and Indianapolis ends up 9-7 we own a tie breaker, this of course assuming that the Bengals lose their final two. I know, it’s confusing, that’s why I packed a bowl before I typed it.

Finally, none of the above means shit if the Jets don’t handle business and post W’s for the duration of the season.

How Tebow can help: Pray his balls off!

On to the Week 15 Power Spankings, there were plenty of those, and all 3 MVP candidates came out to play.

#5

CHI @ MIN

Seems like yesterday the Chicago Bears were 7-0, sitting comfortably atop their Division, flaunting a nasty top ranked D, and then they started playing the good teams, and it was downhill from there. The reeling Bears paid a visit to Minnesota to take on Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Defense. AP pounded out 154yds on the ground while punching in 2 TD’s in their 21-14 division win over Chicago. This was the 7th time this season Peterson has surpassed the century mark, the guy has been fucking unbelievable, a freak of nature. It has not even been a year since that late season game in Washington in which he tore his ACL and still, he’s managed to amass 1600+yds rushing. And with the Vikings sitting at 6-6, they needed every yard he provided to keep their playoff hopes alive. It’s the type of shit an MVP does, the type of season the Comeback Player of the Year has. Just so that it is noted, I understand a Power Spanking should reflect in a score, I know the margin of victory should be wider than 7, but it’s not the score that blew me away, AP showed that he will run the ball on anyone, he followed up that unbelievable performance from last week, with this performance, he’s been consistent, how could I not recognize him for what he has done? With the Victory the Vikes sit at 7-6 and kept their slim playoff hopes alive. As for the Bears, they are struggling at 8-5 clinging to that final playoff spot.

#4

DEN @ OAK

Here is another guy in Peyton Manning who sat out the entire 2011 NFL season while he underwent 4 neck surgeries and yet it seems like he hasn’t skipped a beat. Of course he needed to get the rust off in the first few games, and at times it seemed like he would never be the Peyton of old. He has proved that it was all football blasphemy to doubt ever doubt him, the thought of his skills diminishing are now a thing of the past as Denver has locked up their Division and cruised to their 8th straight victory when they took it to the lowly Raiders 26-13. Manning would throw for 310yds and a touchdown in this game as he continued to make his case for the Comeback Player of the Year as well as the League MVP. Altogether on the season Manning has completed nearly 70% of his passes (68.3), has thrown for 30 TD’s to just 10 INT’s and has thrown for 300+ yds in 7 games this season. Again, these are the # and MVP would put up, it’s the stuff legends are made of.

#3

NO @ NYG

So the Saints came into New Jersey and had their egos marched on. It’s no secret, despite the brilliance of Drew Breese, it’s become clearer and clearer that Sean Payton was the brains of the outfit. Rookie RB David Wilson ran wild on the Saints in just about every which way one can possibly run wild on an opponent. Wilson became the first player in NFL history to collect 200+ yds on special teams as well as 100+yds from the backfield. A nice accomplishment for Bradshaw’s replacement, but the back flipping bullshit has to go, Coughlin don’t like that shit. But he does like blowing out a conference opponent, and that is exactly what the G-men did. A 52-27 blowout. This just goes to show the league that the November Blues are far behind the Giants as they seem poised to make another run at this thing. I’ve said from the begging of the season how I feel about the Giants, as much as I hate them, I have grown to respect them, and when these fuckers get hot and that front 4 gets it going and that retard Eli goes into Rain man mode, it’s not too farfetched to speak of another Giant/Patriots Super Bowl. Eli and company now head down to ATL to take on the overrated Falcons who lost to the Panthers last week, to hear Trash Talk Sport’s T.D. Hawks tell it in his Trash Talk Giants Game day Preview; Giants leave there with a victory 27-17. I could see that.

#2

HOU @ NE

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Tom Brady whipped his cock out on the big screen and boy, how could you not consider this guy an MVP candidate. He picked apart the Houston Texans in a 28 point blowout 42-14, in what many believe to have been a preview of the AFC Championship game. If Houston plays like that again, I’m sure Brady and Belechick will have no problem embarrassing them in another big game. Keep in mind that the Texans were blown out by the Packers and then went on to return the favor the following week against the Ravens, by no means is this beginning of the end for the Texans, they just played a really good team that they do not match up well against. That’s all I got to say about that. As far as Brady and the MVP, I feel he has to be the front runner, plain and simple. Where would NE be without him? How would that offense operate without him? Put someone else under center aside from Peyton Manning and does that offense perform the same? Better yet, who the fuck only turns the ball over 4 times? Here are his Numbers; he’s completed 64% of his passes for 3,833yds with 29 TD’s and 4 INT’s. Not to mention yet another 10+ game win season and another AFC East title. I hate the fucking Patriots.

#1

ARI @ SEA

This will be brief. It’s hard to win or even play well in Seattle when they have that 12th man behind them. it is even harder when you suck. Hence the case of the Arizona Cardinals, who after starting 4-0 have shit the bed and dropped 10 straight when the Seahawks tore them a new asshole in a 58-0 victory.

This win proves one thing about the Seahawks, you have to have one hell of an attention span to mentally stay in a game of that nature. There is only one way I figure you can remain that focused in a blowout of that magnitude. Anyone else want to chime in?

M.Barr

Trash Talk Sports

Giants March Pass Saints, Look to Shut Roddy White the Fuck Up by T.D. Hawks of Trash Talk Sports

Like I said the game should not have been played. The Giants watched as the Saints took the field last Sunday in anticipation of revenge and awarded them a firm ass beating. Thanks for letting me see the Giants have their first 50+ point game in over twenty years. I found last year the Saints had no problem running up the score on lesser opponents. Oh how beautiful the sight of Drew Brees and the Saints on the other end of a blow out. The Saints main goal this season should be to keep Drew Brees healthy and safe. It’s a wrap!

It was also a record breaking day for the G-men against the Saints. All thanks to the rookie sensation, yeah I said sensation, David Wilson. Not only did he break a Giants record with 327 all purpose yards, he is also became the first player in NFL history to have 200 kickoff return yards and 100yds on the ground. Wilson will become a major player in the Giants already powerful offense; and they will need him this week against the shit talking (everyone seems to “hate” on the Giants this year) Falcons.

 

Maybe it was the fact that the Giants knocked the Falcons out of the playoffs last year in embarrassing fashion. Maybe it is because a slot receiver, a little guy, who was not even starter in the beginning of the season last year, wound up with more yards. Maybe because after this game that same slot guy could surpass him again. Or maybe it is just because Victor Cruz has become Roddy White’s mom’s favorite player. Who knows why, but Roddy White thinks it is a good idea to call out the Giants all powerful and finally healthy again wide receiving corps. Tisk tisk Roddy, have we not learned from our dear friend Miss Clay Matthews (the fudge packing tranny).

Keys to exposing as the Falcons for the frauds they are:

Offense:
Rush he shall – David Wilson will take over the starting job this week due to an injured Bradshaw. The Falcons are allowing a league’s 2nd worst yards allowed on the ground. They are 2nd only to the New Orleans Saints and we all saw what Mr. Wilson did to them last week.
Unfortunately, we all know, the reason Wilson has not earned the starting spot outright is because of his poor blocking skills. Eli is going to need to release the ball quickly. Look for Cruz to have a big game.

Defense:
Roddy White talks shit because he can. Year in and year out he is a machine, and with Matt Ryan having enough time in the pocket, this self-proclaimed “big boy” will run wild on an ailing secondary. Again, the key is to put pressure on Ryan as they did last week against Brees and forcing him into making mistakes. The secondary, whether they be starters or not, injured or not, needs to step up and also keep Julio Jones out if this game.

 

The three game season starts Sunday at 1pm.

Giants – 27 Falcons – 17

 

 

T.D. Hawks

Trash Talk Sports

 

 

1st Place Knicks Start 6 Game Homestand Clicking On All Cylinders!! By Steve “Chino Brick City” Inghilleri of Trash Talk Sports

So the New York Knickerbockers keep rolling along! After a Dagger 3 by Jason Kidd with 24 ticks left , they did in the Brooklyn Nets & left them reeling with their 5th straight loss dropping them to 11-9. The NYK are a team CLEARLY headed in the opposite direction. They are now a Conference BEST 16-5, winning 7 of their last 8. They have emerged as the Team to beat in the East after their Blowout win over the HEAT last week. Mike Woodson’s “1 GAME AT A TIME” Mentality is working like a charm, as the veteran leadership has taken over. I don’t want to dwell on this too much, but the reason the Knicks are better than the Nets is simple. It’s the philosophy that Mike Woodson & his coaching staff, along with the Veterans on this team, have drilled home. You ask any Knick after a win or a loss and they’ll mention “it is 1 Game”. They don’t get too high after a win, or too low after a loss. To me, this is the biggest difference between this year & last year. The Knicks are now winning Games, they most certainly would have lost last year. If the Nets got up for EVERY game like they do for the KNICKS, It’s quite possible that THEY would be atop the EAST. They Have the Talent, They have the depth. But it’s the mental game where I feel they’re lacking.

Case & Point: The Knicks were down by as many as 16 in the 1st qtr after some blistering shooting by their crosstown rivals. More importantly, were down by 10 late 3rd qtr. But they kept hanging around and would NOT let the Nets blow this game open. Although it was Kidd who drained the game winner, it was Carmelo Anthony who carried this team on his back dropping 45 pts on 15-24 shooting, including five 3’s. He also scored 6 straight points in a variety of ways down the stretch in the final minutes prior to Kidd’s Game winner.

This win over the Nets was not the only reason the Knicks are the certified team to beat in the East, Miami loss to Golden State last night. Currently the Knicks post an 8-5record on the road which is in fact the Best in the East & 4th Best in the league. They also are the only remaining Undefeated Home Team in the NBA at 8-0. The up and coming part of their schedule will afford them the opportunity to expand on that record as their next 6 games will be played in the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” They will kick things off tonight against the Lakers at 8:00pm, a game which also features the return of Mike D’Antoni.

The Lakers come LIMPING into New York having lost 7 of their last 10, 9-13 overall with an uncharacteristic like 2-7 road record. However, this is a “TRAP Game”. Kobe Bryant ALWAYS seems to get up for the Knicks no matter what either team’s record indicates. Having said that, this is an EXCELLENT opportunity for the KNICKS to OPEN UP THE GAP, with the next 6 games being against The Lakers, Cavs, Rockets, Nets, Bulls & T-Wolves. ONLY the Nets & Bulls are over .500. And the way things are going for Brooklyn that sinking ship may be headed for disaster. The Garden crowd will be in frenzy due to the combination of the Return of Mike D’Antoni & coming off the heels of the win at Brooklyn. I know D’Antoni resigned, but let’s call a spade a spade, no pun intended. It was Anthony that ran D’antoni & his WEAK, NO DEFENSE PLAYING, system out of town. The Lakers are 4-8 under D’antoni and quite frankly I don’t see things getting much better, especially with Steve Nash’s return up in the air. As recently as Sunday, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni speculated that Nash might return at some point on the Lakers’ road trip that begins Tuesday in Cleveland, but Nash told USA Today that won’t be happening. Ironically, the Lakers starting PG is Chris Duhon, who played for Knicks under D’antoni for 2 years having his best year as a Pro averaging 11 pts and 7 Assists in 2009. But He’s CLEARLY overmatched with this PG Heavy Knicks rotation. I can see Raymond Felton having a HUGE night against Duhon & the Lakers. Things could get ugly VERY Quickly !

D’Antoni is almost assuredly going to get his share of boo’s when they announce his name. But after that it’s up to the players on the floor. Unless of course D’antoni becomes unglued like he did after Tuesday night’s loss to Cleveland, when he didn’t appreciate the line of questioning he got from one of the LA Times columnist, who questioned D’Antoni’s preparation, something he NEVER did in New York! As Bad as they were under D’Antoni, you never would have known it. His demeanor was always up beat & jovial in a win or a loss!! Something that rubbed Knick Fans & Brass the wrong way. Maybe if He showed some more emotion like that, He wouldn’t have lost his Team or his Job. Wait a second. Did I just Say that? Fuck Outta Here!!! The Knicks NEVER would have won ANYTHING under D’Antoni’s system! He never ever once stressed Defense. He REFUSED to make any adjustments. His overly confidant belief and false pride in regards to his system was the reason for His Demise. And inevitably will be his demise in Los Angeles with or without Nash.

So in sticking to the “1 game at A time” Philosophy, I’m not EVEN going to talk about who’s next. All the Knicks have to do is the same thing they’ve been doing all year, play tough defense, move the ball, hit open shots, the 3 ball & DONT TURN THE BALL OVER !! Here’s a little Knick Nugget: The NY KNICKS are averaging only 10 turnovers a Game!! That’s THE BEST in the league!! Conversely, The LAKERS are averaging 16.5 Turnovers a Game!! That’s next to LAST in the league! Only Houston has more. The Knicks also force 16.1 Turnovers per Game!! That’s a +5.28 Differential, also the best In the NBA!! So for those Bandwagon jumpers, fear not!! These are NOT our “Same Old Knicks”!! They may be old, but not the same! Not even close, just Like tonight’s game should Be, NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!!

Steve “Chino Brick City” Inghiller

Trash Talk Sports

 

Tim Mccarver Is A Douche By J.Senno of Trash Talk Sports

Mom, why does this man hate the Mets?” This was a question I posed to my mom in 1991 in reference to Tim Mccarver’s inability to acknowledge anything that the Mets did correctly and scorn them with a smug disgust any time they did something wrong. Then I would turn to the Yankee game as Phil Rizzuto would be teaching the youth in the audience how to field a ground ball and treat the Yankees with a special kind of reverence.  I hate Mccarver, I think he is a complete douche and I love the Scooter (Rizzuto), but they were both effective in eliciting an emotion out of me and making me engaged in the game.

That was over 20 years ago, and a lot has changed in the scope of how sports are covered, but surprisingly announcing hasn’t changed all that much. This leads me to the question, “How can we make sports commentating the most entertaining that it can possibly be?” We have had failed experiments such as the Dennis Miller and the Tony Kornheiser debacle, but for the most part we get the same BS game in game out that we’ve always gotten. If you don’t believe me think about how many times you have heard the following phrases:

‘Defense wins championships’ (defense does win championships, but so does offense)

‘The team that wanted it more won the game today’ (yeah, I’m sure it had nothing to do with skill)

‘You can see the desire in his eyes’ (the guy is wearing a helmet, and you are saying he looks ready to fuck?)

‘I think it’s time the team went back to the drawing board’ (we have technology now, are teams really using antiquated drawing boards?)

The Dennis Miller project failed because he doesn’t translate well to football audience as he comes across as a snarky elitist. It also seemed like he didn’t care about football as much as the obscure analogies he would spew that would make you grab your Encyclopedia Britannica to understand what he is talking about. Football fans want to hear announcers that sound ‘like them’ and that say things ‘they would say’, Miller did not do that.

The Tony Kornheiser experiment failed because it didn’t seem that he ever really wanted to be a commentator. The reason he works so well on PTI is because there is a point and counter point and it is a discussion, whereas as on Monday Night football he was the only ‘personality’ and there wasn’t that witty back and forth that him and Micheal Wilbon provide.

 This has made all networks that cover sports reticent to take any chances when it comes to commentators. You have one play by play guy (Costas, Albert), one ex player (Aikman, Mccarver), and one expert. ‘That’s the way it has always been and we like it.’ But this format is washed up and played out. So this made me think of the scene in the movie ‘Big’, where Tom Hanks pitches the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, why not do-that with sports?

There is specialized programming for everything, but nothing for sports. I think before you sit down to watch a sporting event there should be options so you can ‘choose your own adventure.’ The first thing you should be able to select is the level of viewership, just like playing a video game. I no longer need an announcer like Rizzuto to tell me to watch the ball into my glove or in football for them to tell me a field goal is worth 3 points. There should be 4 levels,

1) Beginner: You’re new to the game or only watch the big games.

2) Intermediate:  You watch pretty regularly, but you are not upset if you miss a regular season game.

3) Advanced: You have disappointed family members by missing birthdays so that you may you go to or watch the game. A loss for your favorite team actually changes your mood.

4) Geek: If you are like me and want to hear about weird statistics or the break-down of cover 2 man 1 versus regular cover 2, then you should have that option.

The next aspect you should be able to select is the kind of experience you want when you watch the game.

1) Traditional: You will get the same shit you have always been getting. If you are the type of person who takes a turkey sandwich to work every day then this is what you should pick.

2) Perez Hilton: They talk about everything those non-sports fans care about. They tell you about the new  jerseys and report on rumors about players infidelities or fights between players’ wives. This will be great for Super Bowl parties, separate into two different rooms and everyone is happy.

3) PTI style: You will have the traditional play by play guy, who will also act as a moderator between 2 experts who are basically pundits with agendas. The experts will debate one another’s points, which will make this setting more interesting and entertaining.

4) Trash talk: This will be much like the WWE. Each announcer will have clear interests in who is winning the game and will actively root for one team while also talking smack about the other team and unleashing personal attacks on the other commentator as well when they see fit. Seriously, this would be the greatest thing to happen to sports announcing.

In an age where we can select between 7 pawn shop shows, countless Law and Order and CSI variations, and endless supply of housewife shows why not expand the experience for sports watching?  A prominent scholar named after a type of water (Ice Cube) once said, “We’re in this entertainment business really to give the people what they want.” So let’s stand up together and say this is what we want.

J. Senno

Trash Talk Sports

That’s the way it was and we liked it, an article on the Baseball Hall Of Fame…… by J.Senno of Trash Talk Sports

There was a sketch that was popular on SNL where Dana Carvey played a grumpy old man who opined for the past and had a catch phrase “That’s the way it was and we liked it.” This is how I feel about most baseball fans and sportswriters who claim to be historians of the game and ‘purists’ when they talk about hall of fame voting. The system is broken, but it has been so ingrained in us that it is the ‘best and only’ way that we have just learned to accept its limitations. Whenever I tell a so called ‘purist’ this, their inevitable response is “Then how would you fix it?” And of course they assume I will just fumble over my next words and just agree with them. Unfortunately for them I have taken great pride in spending countless hours preparing for this argument out of competitiveness, (compulsive maybe, diabolical perhaps).

As a kid, (before excel) I used to hand-make my own baseball card with my career statistics on the back. When I did this at 7-8 I was a Hall Of Famer (think Barry Larkin). By 9-10 I had downgraded my ceiling to 3 time all-star (think Edgar Renteria), and when I was 11-12 I came to grips with my coordination, lack of size and athleticism, and landed on serviceable role player who hung around out of grit and hustle (think Tim Bogar). By 13 I had completely given up on the idea of being a Professional Baseball Player and thought it foolhardy to continue with this practice of fantasy. The reason I mention this story is to point out that as we get older we should get wiser and become more self-aware and use knowledge and information provided to us so that we may evolve and make better decisions as we improve upon what has already been established. People are innately opposed to change. What most people do with knowledge and information is they use it to further affirm opinions they have already established rather than using it to evolve their opinions into new or better ones. I mean, there was a time when I thought that gay was a choice and that you could put a calzone in a regular toaster, point being, you live and you learn.

Baseball purists were taught that the most important statistics in the game are: Batting Average, RBI’s, Homeruns, and Runs. These are the “sexy” stats, its’ not exciting to walk. Think about this; if you finger your girlfriend to climax, or have sex with her to climax, either way she is pleased and you have fulfilled your responsibility. It’s a different sensation plus a greater feeling of self-accomplishment with sex than it would be with a line drive single, but really, you have done the same thing.

I’m not saying these statistics are not good measures of a players’ worth or value to the team, they are, but thanks to new technology and Baseball stat geeks such as Bill James, we now have better measures of a players worth. Does this mean we should throw out Batting Average, RBI’s, and Homeruns and label them obsolete? In a word no, but it does mean we should weigh them in with the other stats to get the full picture of any players contribution to the team. In my mind I am thinking of a score like a QB rating. Bill James has already established something similar to this http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/hof_standard.shtml which I think is a great start, although I do also feel his formula has room for improvement, just as everything in society does. There is a reason we no longer use VCR’s and watch HD TV’s. The issue is there are ‘purists’ saying things like WAR and BABIP are not useful or may be incorrect. This has created the equivalent of a Baseball filibuster, which is keeping it from moving things forward.

The second issue that comes with the Hall of Fame is the subjectivity it’s voters. This is not a new issue as it has always been the case. Mickey Mantle only received 88.2% of votes to get into the Hall of Fame, Ernie Banks 83.8% and Cy Young at 76.1%. This makes absolutely no sense. How can 11.8% of voters look at Mickey Mantle’s career in comparison to those before him and not induct him in with 100% of the vote? Robbie Alomar had to wait until his 2nd year of eligibility which was a travesty to the process. All these players had different reasons for not getting the votes they deserved, but none of the reasons were particularly good. Alomar, I would assume, was the spitting incident, Banks because he played on bad teams, Cy Young’s first year of voting and they were setting the precedent for stupidity? And I’m sure Mantle was for his carousing. None of this in my opinion has anything to do with their eligibility to the Hall of Fame.

“But Justin what about those filthy steroid cheaters who sullied the game?” people will ask. These are the same people who get mad at players for not hustling, but don’t feel the hypocrisy that they are posting that on an internet forum while they are supposed to be working. If you had the opportunity to make 800-1000% more at your job and deserve kudos when all you had to do was stick a needle in your ass every once in awhile, wouldn’t you consider it? If you were living in an impoverished area and you could do great things for your family and the community with money that could be obtained without really hurting anyone, wouldn’t you be selfish enough to rub some cream on an injury to make it heal faster? Just as baseball has always been stat driven, it has also been cheater driven. “If you’re not cheating you are not trying.” Whether it was stealing signs and corking bats, or spit balls and greenies in the 80s, it has always been part of the game. I say, if they meet the metrics above, then they are in, if they were caught cheating then there should be a basement level where their plaques will be behind bars like a prison. If they weren’t caught or it wasn’t illegal in the game at the time, then they are in. We do live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty, which doesn’t seem to apply to sexual cases or steroid abuse.

Ok, now that I have explained the issues with the Hall of Fame process, how do we fix it? Well first thing is create a system that holds players to the same standard when deciding their worth:

60% – An improved formula similar to James’ which better weighs the period in which they played, defense, SABR metrics and position they played

25%- MVP shares, World Series, All-Star games, Silver Sluggers, etc. The same formula that is used for the 60% would also be used for deciding MVPs and awards to assure subjectivity is not an issue. This will keep us from having another Trout vs Cabrera fiasco.

15%- Writers vote. This is my compromise because I don’t feel it holds any weight because our eyes and personal opinions can limit the effectiveness of voting. I do have 2 caveats though. First, the writers will not simply vote yes or no on a player, they will vote on a scale of 0-15 of how deserving the player is for induction. Second, if the voter’s value is 30% different than the norm, then there vote is discounted either way. This will keep away “Homerism” on one end and personal issues with a player on the other. Also, voters will be held accountable if they are consistently more than 30% off on players, I’m sorry you lose your ability to vote and we can’t trust you. Under my system Bonds, Clemens, and Piazza would be in this year. Bagwell, Biggio, and Sosa would have just missed and unfortunately Todd Walker still fell woefully short.

I don’t believe my system is the best, but it is much better than what we have now and it will send us in the right direction. If you read this and vehemently disagree then you have missed the point and you can have fun watching baseball games through non-hd lenses on a VHS. Enjoy.

 

J. Senno

Trash Talk Sports

Giants look to stay atop NFC East and crush Saints playoff hopes by T.D. Hawks of Trash Talk Sports

The Giants are a trend setting bunch. The first new trend, this season, came in the first game of the season.

The old trend: For the last 11 years, the defending Super Bowl Champs have gone 11-0 in their season openers.

Of course that winning streak must come to an end and by none other than the Giants. The Giants, as we all know, got their asses handed to them by the Cowboys in the first game of the season. And by doing so, they have become the first defending Super Bowl Chamion to lose the season opener in 12 season.

The latest old trend: The Washington Redskins have lost their last 10 home Monday Night Football games. Of course that losing streak would have to come to an end and who better to end it than the Giants? The Giants beat the Redskins in every category except rushing yards and the final score. Eli played a hell of a game and Bradshaw rushed for over 100yds against a staunch run D. Unfortunately for the Giants, the Redskins’ Alfred Morris and RGIII were next to unstoppable. The Redskins’ running attack was just as dangerous as the first time these two teams met earlier this season. This time the football gods were smiling upon the ‘Skins in the same way they smiled upon the G-men earlier in the season. If RGIII’s fumble/touchdown had gone the other way the Giants would have a secure lead in the NFC East. Fortunately for the ‘Skins and now also the Cowboys the luck was in the hands of Joshua Morgan; who retrieved the fumble and brought it in for a TD. The Giants have onece again backed themselves into a corner and need to win the next four games.

The four game season starts Sunday against the Saints.

Due to the transitive property of ass whoopings the G-men have already smacked up the Saints.The Saints lost to the 49ers and the Giants decimated the ‘Niners. This Sunday’s game at Metlife should not even be played. But, of course, since the Giants are good sports so the game will be played. In all seriousness, the Giants need to play like champions this Sunday. Last year, almost a year exactly, the Saints embarrassed them 49-24. This year is a bit different, Sean Payton is “out of the picture” and without defensive coordinator Gregg Williams the Saints just look sloppy. Obviously they are missing their usual added incentive. The Saints still have Drew Brees though and that man can throw a football.

If the Giants want to stay atop the NFC East and get back at the Saints for that ass beating they took last year then this is how:

Offense:

Run or pass, it does not matter. The Sains defense is the worst in the league.So when the Giants make it to the red zone, and they will, they have to punch it in. The G-men cannot settle for field goals again this week. It cost them the game against the ‘Skins last week. Red zone touchdowns are the key!

Defense:
Do not allow Brees too much time in the pocket. He can pick apart any defense if left alone.The game plan is similar to when the G-men played the Packers two weeks ago. The Saints and Packers each have a stellar QB and no running game. Drop extra guys into coverage and do not worry as much about the run. After chasing RGIII for 26m:47s last week, the defensive line should find that getting to Brees will be much easier. Expect to see some serious pressure and mistakes by Brees on Sunday.

Giants – 35    Saints – 14

T.D. Hawks

Trash Talk Sports

Week 13 Power Spankings by M.Barr of Trash Talk Sports

I am not an analyst. Not by any means. I’m a fan. I write as a fan, debate as a fan, and at times my views may be bias, but fuck it. It is what it is. All topics are open for debate. If you are sensitive or one of those politically correct type pricks, I suggest you think twice.

After the most embarrassing loss of his professional career in which he practically tossed his Guard’s salad on national television, you figure Mark Sanchez would be out for blood and redemption against a Cardinals team that had lost 7 straight heading into last  Sunday’s matchup. I mean, you could only imagine after hearing his head coach profess his love for him at the podium of the post-game news conference following the Thanksgiving debacle, that he’d attempt to make good on his coaches belief and show that he in fact does give the Jets the best chance to win. It wasn’t the case, not even close. It was jaw dropping how bad Mark Sanchez played on Sunday, truly alarming, and so is this. Since the beginning of the 2011 season Sanchez has been responsible for 44 turnovers. 44! Only Ihop has served up more turnovers in that time frame, it’s fucking ridiculous, hilarious, as well as nauseating. The Jets first offensive possession of the afternoon opened in typical Sanchez fashion. 1^st play from scrimmage, an overthrown pass intended for Jeremy Kerley, being intercepted by none other than Kerry Rhodes. There was no booing, just utter silence as the home crowd sat in fucking disbelief, it sucked whatever energy the fans had managed to muster up for this beleaguered franchise right out of the atmosphere. This was followed by another and yet another Sanchez turnover by way of interception. Throughout the entire 2^ndqtr the chant of McElroy began to pick up steam, both teams headed to the locker room at the half with a score of 3-0 on the board in favor of the Cardinals.

Of course they would come out of halftime, make no changes and force the fan base to suffer through three more brutal possessions before reality finally set in on Rex. This kid fucking sucks. Now, I’m not into conspiracy theories or none of that shit, I don’t believe the NFL is owned by the illuminati and that every score of every game is manipulated by referees or the bartenders at Buffalo Wild Wings, but, isn’t it sheer coincidence that Tim Tebow just happened to be inactive even after being cleared by Doctors on the day Ryan decides to make his move? I don’t know how much water that case may hold, but it sure as fuck is interesting and with Tebow inactive, Rex Ryan decided his job was more important than Sanchez’s feelings and turned to third stringer, second year QB Greg McElroy. At that moment the crowd came to life, as did the Jets’ offense. As you have heard, seen or read, McElroy would lead the Jets on a 10 play, 69yd drive, capping it off with a 1yd TD pass to TE Jeff Cumberland. That is all the Jets Defense would need as they would shut the Cardinals offense down for the duration of the game. Arizona was 0/15 on 3^rd downs; they managed just five 1^st downs and a total of 153yds on offense, laughable. What makes things worse is that the Jets were just as bad until Ryan made the switch.

And still, Mark Sanchez has been given the nod to start under center come this Sunday’s playoff like, win or go home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I suppose all those punches to the face as a kid courtesy of his father Buddy Ryan have made Rex the delusional adult he is today. On to the week 13 Power Spankings.

#3

IND @ DET

Look, the margin of victories weren’t that great this week. Not many blowouts worth noting, but what is worth noting is the play of this trio of rookie QB’s. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin iii and Russel Wilson, these kids ball out, no question, there is a bright future for those franchises should they continue to perform at the level in which they are.

We will start with Andrew Luck, who has the face only a mother could love, and despite looking like a foot, has the Colts in control of a Wild Card playoff spot as they surprisingly sit at 8-4. Never mind the 3 Int’s he tossed against Detroit, let’s just never mind that he has 16 Int’s on the season, the rookie has grit. You can’t teach that, and with just 8:51 remaining in the contest and his Colts trailing 33-21 Andrew showed that he in fact was worthy of being the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He was able to engineer an 8 play 85 yard drive to pull the Colts within 5 when he hit Lavon Brazill on a 42yd dart for a TD, Lucks third of the afternoon. The Colts D would manage to stagger Matt Stafford and the Lions offense following the score and the stage was set for Peyton’s replacement to officially replace Peyton.

With a minute seven left, and the ball at his own 25 Luck showed the poise of a seasoned veteran, his game clock management, where-with-all, put his team at the Detroit 14 with four cracks at the end-zone and with two incomplete pass attempts to Reggie Wayne and one to Avery, the Colts were down to their final snap of the afternoon. And Luck delivered. Stepping and sliding away from the constant pressure provided by the Lions all afternoon, he was able to find Avery cutting across the field and hit him with a soft touch pass leading him to the end zone for a 14yd score and game winner. Indy would send a big fuck you to Suh and the heckling Detroit D and they get the fuck out of dodge, in control of their own destiny. Lucks final line: 24 of 54 for 391yds 4 TD’s and 3 Int’s. Give this kid a run game and it could mean trouble for that AFC South. That being said, on to the #2 Spanking.

#2

NYG @ WSH

WSH 17-16

On Monday night, Bob Griffin was almost awarded a hand job from the Defensive line of the Giants as they looked on in awe as RG3 would dazzle the nation with his brilliance on the grid iron. That may be the gayest sentence I have ever typed up, but it’s true, this kid is something special, smart as fuck too. Now, his numbers weren’t off the grid 13 of 21 for 163yds and a TD, but it’s not what he does with his arm that causes concern for opposing defenses, it’s what RG3 does with his legs that makes him so dynamic, as he was also able to rush the ball for 72yds on 5 attempts. What separates him from Luck? Ball protection. It’s difficult to actually make a comparison, two different styles, both have whips for arms, great pocket presence, but that mobility that RG3 brings in the pocket in my opinion gives him the edge. As I stated he also takes great care of the ball dropping 17 dimes to just 4 Int’s and 2 lost fumbles, needless to say, if he doesn’t beat you with his arm or legs, he can beat you with his wits. Negating any notion that the black QB is not smart enough to man the position, really? Its fucking 2012, C’mon Man! Griffin now has the Redskins at .500 (6-6) and in the playoff hunt, to knock off the division leaders was an impressive feat, especially after they came off of a 38-10 win over the Packers. Don’t take this win with a grain of salt, the Redskins are dangerous right now, let’s not forget Alfred Morris in the back field either, along with Garcon and a still productive Santana moss, Washington is poised to make a run, whether it be this year or next, its seems they have finally filled that void at the QB position. Only knock on RG3, he needs to slide, no one can sustain the type of hits he has thus far, longevity may be an issue if this is not corrected.

#1

SEA @ CHI

Last but not least, my favorite of the group, Russell Wilson, who undoubtedly earned his spot under center but also stepped into a good situation in Seattle, probably the most complete team of the 3. I might catch some heat for this, but he reminds me of Drew Brees. I’m not saying he can put up a fraction of the number Brees has, but boy, standing at 5’11, very similar. Last week Seattle took to Soldier Field under the cloud of controversy. Their two big guns in the secondary, I won’t mention any names, were brought up on charges of violating the league’ PED policy. This can be detrimental to the Seahawks season if they were to lose both of these ball hawks to the 4 game suspension mandated by the violations. Also looming in the background is how awful the Seahawks are away from home, posting a 1-5 record coming into the matchup. What impressed me was how Wilson, once again, managed to bring his team back on the road against a Bears team in desperate need of a win, especially with Green Bay losing to the Giants the previous week.

Wilson threw for 293yds and 2 TD’s in a desperation game for Seattle, he also rushed for 71yds, a dimension he brings to the position similar to that of RG3. And like RG3 Wilson also takes care of the ball while throwing just 8 Int’s throughout the course of the season. In what was a back and forth affair needing overtime to decide the outcome, Wilson once again proved that he belongs. I’ve watched him on 3 separate occasions, against NE, Jets and on Sunday against Chicago. Poised and confidant. That’s what I get from the kid. He showed it over the course of the game on Sunday, especially in overtime when he would march his team 80yds on the opening possession of OT capping it off with a 13yd TD pass to Sydney Rice who was knocked into next week but kept possession long enough across the goaline for the winning score, keeping whatever playoff hopes alive for the Seahawks. The kid makes plays, there is no denying that. I believe under the tutelage of Pete Carrol, he is a star in the making.

Ill end on this note, all three are better than Mark Sanchez.

M.Barr

Trash Talk Sports