Are the NY Giants an enigma, or do they need an enema?

There is absolutely nothing wrong the with San Francisco 49ers Defense. Hey, they held Seattle to under 50 points didn’t they?

Hockey this season? Get the Puck out of here!

After Michael Oher got his third straight penalty on three consecutive plays yesterday for the Ravens, you had to be asking the same question ND was. Where was Sandra Bullock? Didn’t you just expect her to walk onto the field in her tight white skirt, pull Big Mike up by his face mask and say to him very strongly, “Michael, you have to protect the family!”

Speaking of The Blind Side, lets talk about something so silly and such an oxymoron that it’s ridiculous. It’s the term “Sports Genius”. First of all a “genius” does not need the word “sports” in front of his title. Einstein wasn’t a “Scientific Genius”. He was just a “Genius”. Just ask Sheldon Cooper that! There are only two known “Sports Geniuses”; Bill Walsh and Bill Bradley. That’s it. Others may qualify or come close but John Wooden and Phil Jackson would not only deny it, but admit they didn’t even create the system that made them so famous. Red Auerbach may actually be the definition of “Sports Genius”. In fact, if you looked up that term in the dictionary his picture would probably be there. But, Bill Walsh and Bill Bradley were just plain flat out geniuses. They just took their mind and in the case of Bradley, his body, into sports. Bill seems to be the name when it comes to Sports Geniuses. But, don’t for a minute think that Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, or Bill James is in the same league as Bill Walsh or Bill Bradley. You probably know what Bill Bradley did, but to appreciate Bill Walsh, you need to read The Blindside, instead of watching the movie. The movie is about Michael Oher. The book is about Bill Walsh and how he truly changed football.

Andy Reid is considered a “good coach” by most, but he is certainly not a good “in game manager”. In fact, he’s one of the worst of all time. His team, down by a score late in the fourth quarter of Superbowl XXXIX didn’t even move with any urgency. And, he didn’t even stop the clock or do anything when Donovan McNabb was throwing up on the field during that drive. Sunday, the Eagles had three time outs on the final drive of the game and wasted them, losing the game when the refs took ten seconds off the clock with one second left because Nick Foles created a penalty by throwing the pass behind the line of scrimmage. What a way to end a game that they could have and almost tied. This leads to the question of what makes a good “Head Coach” in football or a good “Manager” in baseball? Many coaches and managers are good at either one of their two jobs; managing their incredibly overpaid and egotistical players, and managing the in-game situation. Not many are great at both. In baseball, this dilemma that General Managers had led to what is now called “The Bench Coach”. When will there be an “In Game Manager” in Football? Andy Reid certainly has needed one for a long time as have many others. Poor Andy though. When his son died in training camp it looked like the team was going to rally around that tragedy. Instead it turned into a nightmare of a season. Perhaps Andy should have just retired after his son’s death, or taken the year off.

Isn’t it ironic that both Seattle AND Green Bay have made the playoffs? Who can forget that famous finish at the end of that game that they say cost The Packers the game and possibly a chance to miss the playoffs. They call it the “Fail Mary”. Everyone was up in arms, and a few days later the replacement refs were gone and the “real” refs were back. That seems like ages ago. However, if you saw the Ravens/Giants game yesterday you’d realize that the replacement refs weren’t any worse than the regular refs. They just needed a little more experience. If they had the chance, the union could have been broken. Sometimes you get what you wish for. THINK ABOUT IT!

The Immaculate Reception: 40 Years Later:
Sunday was the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest and most unique plays in the history of the NFL. Terry Bradshaw, who threw the pass on the famous play, discussed it on The NFL Today in only a way he can; funny. And, his beautiful daughter Rachel sang the National Anthem in Pittsburgh before the game where the Steelers unveiled a very nice monument right at the spot where Franco Harris caught the ball (the old stadium has been torn down). However, we didn’t hear from Franco on The NFL today. That would have been cool. If you’re a football fan, and you are at least 50 years old, you most likely remember where you were when that famous play happened. It’s hard not to. It was so famous for so many reasons. First of all, no one actually knew if Franco Harris caught the ball clean or not. The refs tried but who knows what they really saw. You see, they only had basic instant replay back then. Coaches didn’t have the ability to challenge a call nor were there 30 cameras in the stadium to get all the angles. There was very little time left on the game clock. The refs had a meeting. They looked at replays. They had to figure out if Jack Tatum, the mean and great safety from the Raiders tipped the ball directly to Franco Harris, or if it hit off of John “Frenchy” Fuqua, the Steelers running back before Franco caught the ball. Back then the rules stated that it is not a catch if it hits another offensive player directly before the ball is caught by said offensive player. No one was sure and may not be to this day. But, one thing is certain. Thank God for Ed Sabol, Steve Sabol, and NFL Films. If it wasn’t for them, we may never even know if Franco caught the ball or it touched the ground. The replay shows him getting it, but it’s almost impossible to tell.

Here’s the original broadcast:

When you watch clips of that play, like they showed you on The NFL Today this past Sunday, you always see Bradshaw scrambling, then heaving it down field into Tatum’s chest. Fuqua is going for it at the same time. The ball bounces far off of Tatum’s chest, or Frenchy’s fingers, and then poof! Then we see a totally different film. It’s a bad edit job. Certainnly not directed by Martin Scorcese. You then see the NFL Films’ clip of Franco Harris grabbing the loose ball with his fingertips barely an inch off the ground and running into the end zone. Steve and Ed cleared up the catch, but we may never know if Frenchy touched the ball last or not. And, this is what makes reality “Legend” in the NFL and generally in all of sports. The mystery. The unknown. Did The Babe really point to centerfield and call his homerun? We’ll never know, but somehow, as years go by and the stories grow, it’s a lot of fun to hear the legend and to visualize it in your head. That mystery is forever gone in this “cell phone” world we live in now.

Here is the original play, but with the NFL Films edit of Franco’s catch built into it:

The Steelers lost the next week at home to the eventual Superbowl Champion Miami Dolphis 21-17. No immaculate intervention that week, but perhaps exhaustion from all the hype. The following year they lost to the Raiders in Oakland 33-14. Was it payback? Sure seemed like it, but the Dolphins won the Superbowl again. It wasn’t until the following year, 1974, when the Steelers won their first Superbowl, actually on January 12, 1975 (can you believe today that the Superbowl was actually played that early?) by beating the Minnesota Vikings 16-6. They went on to win many, many more. On the way to their first, they got back at the Raiders one more time in the Rubber Match winning 24-13 in Oakland.

The “Immaculate Reception” became legendary and changed the game forever. It led to instant replay, coaches challenges, rules changes, and replacement refs. But, the one thing it did better than anything else is leave John Madden speechless. Perhaps the only time in his life. Madden was the coach of the Raiders and on the losing end of that amazing play. Many years later the Raiders got the short end of another stick in the playoffs against the New England Patriots in what is now called the famous Tuck Rule. No need to explain that one in detail. If you don’t know it or didn’t see it or hear about it, you’re not a football fan. The Pats got the better of that call and went on to win the Superbowl and a couple more. So, the question is, how much did the NFL, and it’s owners and commissioners hate Al Davis, the so called genius owner of the Raiders and one of the most key men in AFL and NFL history? Apparently a lot. I’m sure those same owners and commissioners would have loved to have had one other call made against the Raiders in a similar situation. The play where Kenny Stabler fumbled the ball forward on purpose into the end zone where Dave Casper, “The Ghost”, recovered it. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon who you rooted for, the NFL, it’s commissioner, and the refs couldn’t think that quick on their feet that day. But, they did change the rules afterwards so that couldn’t happen again. Was there a conspiracy against Al Davis? Well, perhaps not, but perhaps you also believe in the Warren Report and the idea that Oswald acted alone! THINK ABOUT IT!

What are you favorite plays in NFL history? Which plays do you consider the most critical, important, and game changing? Here’s a list to ponder not in any particular order:

– Alan Ameche’s touchdown in the 1958 Championship game called “The Greatest Game Ever”. The Colts beat the Giants in the first nationally televised game at Yankee Stadium to win it all. It changed the game forever.
– Bart Starr’s Quarterback Sneak in the Ice Bowl behind Jerry Kramer’s famous block to beat the Cowboys in 1967.
– The Miracle in Music City (The Titans amazing kickoff return play vs. The Bills)
– The Catch (Joe Montana to Dwight Clark)
– Catch 42 (David Tyree’s amazing grab from Eli Manning that helped beat the undefeated Pats)
– The Fumble or The Miracle in the Meadowlands – Joe Pisarcik to Larry Csonka, to Herm Edwards who said famously one day afterwards and forever, “You play to win the game”!
– John Elway’s “Helicopter” vs. the Packers in Superbowl XXXII.
– One Yard Short – Tennessee Titans vs. St. Louis Rams to end the Superbowl.

Most of these plays changed the game. The Fumble changed the way teams end the game by kneeling down instead of handing off. Catch 42 was appreciated by the Miami Dophins and their fans probably more than Giants fans. The Immaculate Reception changed the way we use replay and the rules. So did the Kenny Stabler fumble. Speaking of “changing the game” or changing the rules how about some other examples: How about Kareem Abdul Jabbar, or rather Lew Alcindor at the time. They outlawed dunking the ball in college basketball because of him. Can you imagine being that good that they change the rules for you? He didn’t get upset. Instead he developed the Sky Hook and went on to score many, many thousands of points with it. So, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade. Alcinder did. Can you name anyone else they changed the game itself for? That’s quite an honor isn’t it?

Isn’t if funny how they give all of these plays little names? It’s indicative of every area of life. Everybody needs to label everything from people, to their diseases, their prejudices, their conflicts, basically everything. We are a society of labels.