Archive for 7 February 2008

What About Dwyane Wade?

By on February 7, 2008

I don’t know if any of you know this by now, but Shaquille O’Neal has been traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. You would have had to dig pretty deeply into the sports websites to find any mention of it. But seriously folks, I know it is big news in Phoenix, but why isn’t there anything being said in Miami?

I know the Heat are really bad this year with a record of 9 wins and 38 losses, but let’s keep in mind that this team isn’t that far removed from a championship win over Dallas a couple of years ago. The question I have is whether the Heat are risking alienation of their star player, Wade, by trading Shaq? Or is it the other way around? Were they risking alienation if they didn’t make a big move to change the downward slide?

I would guess it is the latter more than the former. And the Heat are still a bit of a mish mash of mixed up talent on the floor, but they should start to get a more cohesive game plan together now that Shaq is gone. Heat fans shouldn’t expect to get very far this season, but they can hold out hope that this is all just a part of the turnaround.

For the immediate future, the Heat should at least expect to be more competitive. They should play a more up-tempo style now that Shaq is gone. They have Ricky Davis, Jason Williams, Udonis Haslem and now Shawn Marion to run the floor with Dwyane Wade. And who knows for sure if they have enough guns to make this new up-tempo style effective, but I would think that Marion and Wade are a good start to any team.

Then again, I also believe that any team that features Ricky Davis is due for some addition by subtraction.

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Bill Simmons’ Ill-Fated Randy Moss Jersey For Sale on Ebay

By on February 7, 2008

Bill Simmons was at the Super Bowl and he forgot to pack his lucky Wes Welker jersey. (New England fans, you can blame him for bringing bad luck to the team, if you want.) So, he decided to spend $85 on a Moss jersey for the game and it then became famous in his post-Super Bowl column.

Much like the Patriots, I choked heading into the weekend: Somehow, I forgot to pack my good-luck Wes Welker jersey and headed to Sunday’s game without any Pats gear. Originally intent on buying a Pats hat at the game, once I saw all the jerseys in the stands and in my section, I made the executive decision to fine myself $85 dollars (the price of a white No. 81 Moss jersey at one of those merchandise booths). You can currently find that jersey sitting at the bottom of the garbage can in my hotel room. I might take it home and burn it. I haven’t decided yet.

Apparently he has now decided what to do with it. He is auctioning it off to benefit The Jimmy Fund. If you want to make a nice contribution to cancer research, go ahead and head on over to Ebay and bid up the jersey. I am not sure what you are going to do with it, but it should make a nice prize for someone.

Maybe you can buy it and replace Moss’ name on the back of it when someone else wears that number for the Pats next year. Randy is an ingrate and I wouldn’t expect him to realize the value of his roster spot in New England.

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The Pats Almost Won the Super Bowl

By on February 7, 2008

This might seem like the most obvious headline in the history of the world, but it gets more interesting. Mike Carey, the referee in charge of the Super Bowl this year, had some things to say about the game. For the record, Mike Carey is probably my favorite ref in the NFL. He explains his rulings better than anyone else. If you are a Giants fan today, he is probably your favorite NFL ref too.

Carey had this to say regarding the biggest play of the Super Bowl where Eli Manning was nearly sacked on the play that he ended up completing an impossible pass to David Tyree for a first down.

(From the NY Post)
“I anticipated a sack,” said Carey, a veteran of 18 NFL seasons who became the first black Super Bowl referee. “I didn’t assume that was going to happen, but rarely do you see a quarterback escape when he’s got that much weight on his back and being dragged by two or three guys who had a hold of him. I could see his head was just straight ahead. He was trying to break free with desperation. Then all of a sudden he spun out and then he started to come right back at me.”

Granted, even with a sack on that play it would have been fourth down and the Giants surely would have gone for it, but still. With all the other close plays like the one where Asante Samuel almost had the interception, this is just another example of how fine the line can be between winning and losing in the NFL. It was THAT close.

I am sure some New England fans aren’t happy that the play wasn’t blown dead, but I think Carey made the right (non) call there. It is nice to know that the guy who was working the Super Bowl wasn’t too whistle-happy. There is nothing worse than when a ref blows a play dead that should have resulted in either a change of possession like the dreaded “down by contact” before a fumble. I would hate to have had the league’s biggest game decided by a referee’s whistle rather than the play on the field.

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