Sorry for the long delay of an article. I have tried time and time again to write my thoughts on what has been called “Black Monday” but have never been able to. I can’t fathom it. So I just erased it out of my memory. Apologies.
This may be my most enjoyable NFL postseason to date and here is why. The teams I have wanted to win have always come through, Peyton Manning has looked incredibly rattled, and the games have all been fairly decent games. This weekend’s matchups may shape my entire outlook on the National Football League.
Here are my picks on who should win and why I want them to:
Bears over Saints.
The Bears despite an awful QB, potentially worse than Chaz Frye have still been the only team in the NFC that has belonged in the Super Bowl. I have said all along that any other team that makes from the NFC would be annihilated by any of the top four seeds in the AFC. The Bears have a great defense and what wins championships?
Pats over the Colts.
I want this to happen for one reason only. Peyton Manning and the joy I get out of watching him put up crazy stats and never win in the playoffs…and knowing my Madden career won’t be compared to him any longer. Side note here: Bill Simmons wrote an article with everyone rooting against the Patriots and have become sick of them winning. This caught me a bit off guard considering I think the Patriots are the model of success in the NFL. They don’t get pushed around by big mouthed players who hold out, they trade them. They don’t overpay every single free agent only to have them get injured, or suck, or get injured and suck. As a young businessman, I avidly love the fact that they run their team like a business. Not like Larry Dolan type business where they want to make a profit, they run the organization with great structure, great planning and stick to their guns. In the current salary cap era, any team not modeling after the Pats pisses me off. (As for Bellichek, why did he and every person on his staff become the premier coaches in the world? How did that happen, what did he learn with the Jets that he didn’t know here. Ridiculous)
The reason I claimed this weekend could shape my entire outlook on the NFL is what if both the Pats and the Bears lose. Every expert on ESPN picked the Saints except for Accuscore and that’s because a computer can’t be overwhelmed by some feel good story which I think is bullshit. Double C would refer to me as a jackass based on The Sports and Rock Show. Here is why I think the Saints would win. The whole system is fixed. I have had this conspiracy theory dancing around in my head for about 3 months. Another reason I loved this playoffs, is this season and this postseason I have not bet on a single game for the first time in eight years. Well, I did bet a lot on Notre Dame over Michigan State and won about $1200 in the first weeks of college ball. Well, then there was a Monday night game with the Falcons and the Saints, I said “What the hell, lets throw 100 on the Falcons.” In the two hours hype leading up to the “Return to the Superdome,” I realized how ignorant I was and that the fix was obviously on. It did not take long for it was a quick three and out followed by an untouched man coming up the middle for a blocked punt. Are we serious? What a joke. I am curious on the stat of how many other blocked punts there was this season. (I just looked it up, there was 11 total) I sat there questioning the entire fix all game, and after the game, I took my $1100 I was still up and did not gamble again. Therefore, I am left hoping for a hurricane to come ravish Cleveland soon so they can drop the #1 draft pick into our lap and fix the games for us.
The reason I quit gambling was my conspiracy theories I would always have, as started with the Tampa Bay-Colts Monday night game dating back about four years. The only way Peyton Manning wins the big game is if it is rigged. He is the posterboy of the NFL and has 1000 commercials, everyone of which makes me loathe him more. Thinking of him being talked about for two weeks with the monkey off his back only to shit down his leg versus the Saints (which by the way would be one more team to cross of the list of teams never to win the Super Bowl.) Why would they rig it for Peyton? Easy, because they rigged it last year for the fat fuck and the Steelers. He fumbles on the 2 and is in the process of one of the biggest let downs in history and then the Colts’ guy runs down the middle of the field. They owe the Colts for that ridiculous subplot. I am losing faith in the NFL as I type this. And it used to be my favorite league.
This was written at 3:30 AM and I don’t feel like proofreading or typing any longer, so I hate to cut it short, but it happens. Round table of sports debuts soon.
First off, you know my stance on these conspiracies…it’s all absurd. These athletes wouldn’t just collectively scrip things like pro-wrestlers. I don’t believe it for a second. I believe the refs are involved in things (especially in the NBA), but I will never accept that players willingly participate in consiparcies….and then none of it leaks out. These meatheads are way too competitive.
But here’s my other thought: why the hell is the NFL your favorite league to begin with? I hate the NFL. It sucks. Out of the 2 football organizations (NFL and NCAA) why would anyone pick the NFL? Stupid dress code rules. Stupid challenge rules. Stupid coverage rules. Stupid pass interference yardage rules. The regular season is meaningless and boring. There’s not even half the passion in college football. ESPN never stops promoting it every second of the fucking day and has 45 NFL Lives scheduled a week (and yet never finds any time to talk about the Browns–ever…not even one second…fuck off). It sucks. I hate it…but not because it’s rigged. …..[sigh]….with that being said, I’m really exicited to watch the games today. Go Browns.
The NFL is my favorite because I have completely blocked NCAA football out of my head for the next few months. All i think about is Chris Wells adn the NFL draft when it comes to NCAA. I will be back on board on the scarlet and gray game in spring ball.
Peyton Manning’s life mimics my Madden career. I would look for a loss in the super bowl to raddish, i mean the bears. If you wouldve told me 2 months ago Manning would come back from 18 down to go to the Super Bowl and Troy smith would pull a peyton manning, i wouldve jacked you in the teeth. I am lost.
agreed
So Saw-Kick, please explain how the NFL is rigged in more detail than simply “the NFL is rigged”….How and what can you possibly pay an NFL athlete to throw a game when they are making ten times that amount in a contract? You could come up with a story and sub-plot for every matchup with FA and coaching changes. If the Colts were fixed to win that game, why would the Gafney call been ruled a TD when based on the refs judgement. That would be the perfect place to screw the Pats, when judgement call is to be made. Come on man, get serious. I can see refs maybe getting paid off, but bad calls are in EVERY game. That silly roughing the passer call on Peyton was clearly horrible, but that same pathetic call has been made all year long.
And please explain how NO player, in the history of the NFL has spoken of this. With all the players the NFL screws over with it’s injury and retirement compensations, not one pissed off ex-player would like to talk and make MILLIONS of dollars with books, magazine articles, etc.
And why would they make Peyton wait 9 years? Why would they let the Pats win 3 in 4 years when they want the NFL to be wide-open? It just doesn’t make any sense. And was Bettis really that important to the league that they would make the Steelers win the Super Bowl? Are you kidding me? Why not Brett Favre this year? He’s meant more to an entire state than Bettis ever meant. Sorry pal, the “conspiracy” theory doesn’t hold water. Way too many people would have to be in on it and WAY too many people would have to be quiet, even when the rigged NFL screws them over.
Well said Ryan, way to take it to him. Allow me to state Saw*Kick Mamba’s “conspiracy” does not reflect the views of Saw*Kick Radio, and are that of his own opinion.
I will say that TV networks and different media outlets have the biggest stake in fixing games. I think it wouldn’t be to far fetched for NFL officals to be told, “Keep this game close” to avoid blows and poor ratings. Because in the end thats what it all comes down to, ratings. The largest contributing factor for tamporing with athletic contests.
But wouldnt you think they would have liked to make the Bears-Saints game close, with all the “hurricane” storylines? You know, like NOT calling the intentional grounding since a flag wasnt thrown till AFTER a refs meeting. I think refs can be bought, but I even have reservations about that and how nobody has come out and named names, and pointed to exact times when its happened.
Both games proved there was no fix on yesterday. And i rarely even believe in it. My sports conspiracy theories, as double c knows full well after arguing endless hours about, come from deep seeded gambling losses that slipped from the jaws of victory. That is primarily why I quit gambling. More or less I didnt lose that much money, but you never remember the wins you didnt deserve nearly as much as the bad beats just like in poker. I quit betting on sports b/c it tainted my entrie outlook on sports. Also, conspiracy theories are a lot more to talk about in cleveland because there is no realistic possibility of the browns ever turning around over night like the saints did from 3-13 to NFC title game. So that was more of an alibi. However, I do think both college bball especially and College football could be rigged if someone with a lot of money on a game pays off some key players to point shave. I also agree with joseph about the networks and the refs, but 53 players is too much.
College sports yes, and history has proven that because those college kids can be paid something thats actually significantly more than what they are making. Pro refs, possible. Networks of course want close games for ratings, but in essence, arent most playoff games close simple because its the playoffs and teams are simply better and more apt to play well than regular season games which result in blowouts?
Well this is not to say that every big NFL game is fixed to keep it close or miss a call here, give a call there. I am sure they choose the games wisely and only on a what they believe is a \”Must Fix\” game. Chicago and NO eh I think the ratings power of each team is a wash.
Let us not forget that sometimes no matter what calls are made the better team will just beat the shit out of the other team. We agreed that under no circumstance do we feel the players themselves are in on such riggory. And there is only so much a ref can do. The players ultimately have the most controlling power in the out come of a game, and more often then not have the power to overcome the influence of the refs.
I am not saying all games are fixed, I am not even saying with certainty that some games are fixed. My point is that in my years of watching sports there have been to many instances of question for me not to at least entertain the idea that a third party might have a hand in the outcome of a professional contest.
And sometimes it is just easier to help me deal with my pain and anguish.
Go Cavs and soon to be Go Tribe!
I sure as hell hope the damn MLB puts some fixings for my cubbies this year. I don’t know if I can take another summer of crotch kick losses.
I would say I feel for you, however the Indians were a team two seassons ago who won 93 games and didn’t make the playoffs. Sure we shit down our leg in the last series against the Black Soxs. But that still burns the ass hotter and longer then anything in quite some time. At least for us Cleveland fans. But don’t worry if the sports fixing is ture the Cubs will be getting theirs very soon base on our past few World Series winners.
That 93 game winning season was fun all summer, including august and september, that is until the last week when the curse of all curses jimmy gribben ruined everything
Let’s be fair to Jimmy actually. (I can’t believe I’m going to write this.) Jimmy pushed the Cavs past the Wizards last year. He came up big when it mattered. Based on her performance on Jan 8., I’m blaming Kristen’s friend for the Sunball Slump and Indians’ losses more than Jimmy. She is a hex to end all hexes– the jinx to end all jinxes. Actually, maybe we all need to learn a lesson from the Jimmy Gribben era. He was a jinx. We all thought he was. But then we told him he was. We basically berated him and told him to never come over during a game. He then owned up to it, repented, and actually helped bring about a win for the Cavs by standing outside of our apartment for close to an hour…..SportsCentury and Beyond: Jimmy Gribben, will return after these messages.