The Month of Rest: The Sports Transition Period

Once the Super Bowl was won last Sunday in New Orleans, the country is now in a slow transition stage, depressingly leaving the pigskin behind and ready to start picking up the cowhide. Baseball is back! Today, pitchers and catchers reported for many ball clubs, with the Yankees entering tomorrow in Tampa. Now before we get into baseball, I'd like to mention how well my New Jersey Devils are playing. Yes, I'm a huge hockey fan, and just because I haven't written about them on here, doesn't I'm never going to. I mean after all, New York loves hockey during the winter and spring; I just happen to hate the two New York teams.

The Devils lead the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with the best record (8-1-3) with 19 points so far in twelve games. After sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend, it gives the Devils Army a sense of hope and confidence that they can make it through a forty-eight game season with the veterans on the roster. At first, assigning Bryce Salvador as the captain left me a bit skeptical, but so far his leadership has been looked upon by younger sprouting stars in Adam Henrique and Stephan Matteau. The weeks went rather quickly, but twenty-five percent of the season is surprisingly already in the books, and the Devils are on a streak to possibly win thirty games. But the division rivalries beat every team up, so the aging Devils need to take advantage of the non-division games between teams like Toronto, Carolina, or even Boston, since the Bruins will be at the top of the standings by April when the playoffs begin. Since all this city talks about is how Rick Nash is performing with the Rangers and how dominant they are going to be, it's sometimes nice to hear a bit of complements on Jersey's team. Hell, they were in the Cup last year! WFAN or ESPN don't even talk about the Devils, and they broadcast Jersey hockey games every other night. Let's bring it together boys! Make some changes with our audience. We don't want to hear Tebow talk, or Manti Te'o nonsense. We tune in to hear our favorite teams, not Francesa's or Steven A's. Each team should have recognition. Wow, it felt great to get that off my chest.

Anyway, for sports fans (unless you love hockey), you are in the "Blue Period" of sports. February goes by quick, but each day somehow goes so slow, lonely and weary.  When will the end come for something new?
Luckily, in only a matter of weeks, Spring Training baseball games will be playing on your television screen, and the Masters Golf Tournament will be in the rear view mirror. Spring is only a month away. Get excited! Buy your baseball gear, swing the clubs at the driving range, stay motivated and hopeful that your favorite team will possibly bring a championship title to your front door.

 Just because it's a month at rest, doesn't mean it needs to be boring.

Super Bowl XLVII Pick: The Harbowl

Super Bowl Sunday is here; a day where the whole country comes together in harmony to watch a simple game of football on the couch or at a pub with friends and family.  Today is recognized as one of the most popular days of the year, and the television ratings go through the roof with every house tuned in to CBS to watch the game and commercials of the year.

Super Bowl Sunday is a day to enjoy the game of football with a plethora of junk food, and a continuous time of losing and winning money in the dumbest bets you can create. There is a special feeling for every person, whether they are a fan of the game or not.  For us guys, the halftime show is the ideal time to go to the bathroom and bring back as much food as possible. Halftime is the only twenty-five minutes where the wives that were dragged to the parties get to enjoy the artist taking the stage. This mini concert is all that consists of the women’s “morning coffee conversation” the next morning.

Speaking of “next morning”, why isn’t Super Bowl Monday a national holiday? The percentage of people not showing up at work the next day is incredibly high, and this Monday is recognized by many high schools as “Senior Skip Day”. Hopefully one day in our lifetime, we will have this Monday off from work or school, and enjoy the Sunday evening, not having to worry about sobering up for a work presentation the next morning or getting enough sleep for a huge world history test the next day.

Anyway, there is a football game on today. The Cinderella Baltimore Ravens, coached by John Harbaugh take on the frisky San Francisco 49ers coached by John’s brother, Jim.  Yes, yes, we all know this is the “Harbowl”, but the main focus is on Ray Lewis, and Baltimore’s defense planning to stop Niners’ QB Colin Kaepernick.  My pick for this game was hard to develop, and I am basically going off the past games of both teams, and how they have matched up in crunch-time situations.

San Fran’s defense was ranked high from the beginning of the season, and slowly declined by the last week of the regular season. After giving up twenty-one straight points to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, I don’t see how San Fran’s secondary can live up to the challenge of defending Raven receivers named Boldin, Smith, and Jones. Colin Kaepernick has proven to the league that any rookie can excel in pressure situations, just like Tom Brady did in SB XXXVI, but has a huge work load to bring the Lombardi trophy back home to Frisco. Kaepernick’s rushing game has improved his offense, but I am not sold on him gaining huge rushing yards with the rush defense of the Ravens. Although the Ravens defensive line is full of veterans, experience is key in these situations.  San Francisco’s running games is superb, but expect a greater passing game out of Jim Harbaugh’s offense.  

After what the Ravens offense has done over the last month, coming from behind to win in overtime at Denver, to upsetting the favored New England Patriots in Foxboro, I am completely sold on Joe Flacco. His consistency has been at a top-notch level, and certainly can be looked upon as one of the best playoff runs statistically.  So today, I am taking the Baltimore Ravens to win Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. I hope for a high scoring game, consisting of memorable plays that will go down in history as we always do witness each year. I expect this Super Bowl to be one of the best ever played. Today is the also the last day of the NY Giants championship reign. All good things must come to an end someday, and I am truly grateful to be a part of witnessing two championships in a span of five years. Thank you New York for a wonderful experience I hope to see again soon. Have a great Super Bowl Sunday everyone. Football will be back sooner than later.