NE Pats. Is Karma a ...?

So many things start running through an overly imaginative writer's head when you see someone take out Terrific Tom--Tom Brady gridiron god, mack daddy stetson smooth, golden boy, carrier of supermodel bags and package picker upper--THE MAN--Tom Brady.

Is it karma, as a friend suggested, for spygate? No bad deed goes unpunished.

Just when Daunte Culpepper retires saying the commish said if a starting QB gets injured in a major way he'd be the first one called on the list and suddenly THE Premier QB in the league goes down. Did Daunte wanna hook back up with former teammate and stud WR Moss that badly?

Can you say Tanya Harding and her cast of bat wielding screw-ups? Were the refs in on the deal?

This was the one downer on an otherwise Christmas-like sports day.

The Panthers smacked a whammy on the Chargers (so what if that screwed up my pool). The Bears laid one on the C@!#$ like they should have a couple of Superbowls ago and Jet Favre played a nail biter against the recently replaced Chad Pennington in the sweltering heat of Miami. Aye!

Oh, tennis is still rolling along after 4 weeks or something like that. Yes, Serena Williams brought the U.S. Open trophy back to the U.S. Americans. And there's more for Monday night thanks to Tropical Depression neé Hurricane Hanna. Federer made it, hottie Nadal did not, but nice to see someone new try to take on Mr. Best of all Time.

OH and Carson Palmer maybe if you stop trash talking about The Ohio State University, maybe just maybe, you might be able to beat a rookie QB with a not-so great offense like you should. How's that taste Mr. USC?

Chargers and Panthers

Who plugged in the Chargers! They had a huge surge reeling in 41 points. Somebody should tell them they needed to spread that out over previous four games. It's like Thanksgiving dinner--don't try to eat it all and get bloated, save some for later.

Thank God for kickers. Count on Kasay.

You ain't cuz you not.

It's a sad day when you're cheering hysterically in the 4th quarter for the first TD of the day-- happy to just escape without a big fat donut on the scoreboard.

And Carolina got rid of Keyshawn, why? Who is helping Steve Smith? What was the draft picks name?

And we didn't go after Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich, why? At least Miami is feeling dumber than Carolina today. And the Raiders management finally looks smarter (although that's just smoke and mirrors).

I'm scared to whine too much about the Panther's situation because look at San Diego and Chicago. Calls for heads to roll today might seem like a good idea, until you're left with something much, much worse.

Sunday Night Shout-outs

I like when a guy gives a shout-out to his high school team during the team introductions. It would be even more awesome if the players who played Pop Warner or Mighty Mites football as kids would give those teams a shout out. College and high school polished the diamonds in the rough, but those "little leagues" nurtured the passion and fun.

Speaking of Mighty Mites, this is one of the best local sports news segments on NBC17. Check out the current Pint-Sized Pigskin. Below is one of my favorites.

Quarterback Roulette

Lately, teams are playing the "Whose the GUY? Quarterback Game." Smith and Crennel finally made the call for their long-suffering fans. Not really sure if the Cardinals really made the call or, if they did, not sure it was the right one yet. The Raiders...all I can do is sigh. How did such a feared team become that mess and still retain its scary, yet devoted fans?

When will the Panthers jump in this game? Delhomme's status is uncertain at the moment due to an injury and I don't think fans are really crying about it. When starter Donavon McNabb went down last year, fans were definitely upset--convinced that their promising season was toast. But backup Garcia laid it down, saved the season, and got a starting job elsewhere.

As much as I'd like to see that replicated here, well, the former Houston Texans starting QB David Carr is the backup. He played well last Sunday. And sometimes a person getting a second chance and clean slate excels beyond expectation. Just like an adopted dog. They just seem to behave better than the one you raised from a puppy. I hope this is what happens. As one reporter put it, Jake Delhomme might get Wally Pipped.

For the record, I'm not a Delhomme hater. I love the guy! He's got a great QB name (who doesn't love a Jake), he's passionate, a little daredevil, got that cajun blood pumpin', and from most accounts he's a great leader. When my brother trash talks him, I've always defended him and Fox for that matter.

But he hasn't come up with The Answer--a big, fat, diamond-encrusted Ring.

and as any Buckeye knows, it's not the accolades you accumulate throughout the year, or the Michigan game, the Heisman, or the other postseason hoopla. Not "We played for the National Championship."

It's "DID YOU BRING HOME THE FRICKIN' NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!"

Herm said it best, "You play to win the game."

Separated at Birth II

McCowher
Y'all know! Steely McBeam and Bill Cowher. The Steelers organization takes honoring their history seriously. Why not create a mobile monument to a former long time coach of steel? Watch out kiddies--he spits!













McBeam photo courtesy of www.kdka.com , Cowher photo courtesy of www.newsobserver.com.

Separated at Birth?

Tomepps
Omar Epps or Mike Tomlin? Either way you definitely can't go wrong. More reason to have a dirty house until February--if all goes well for Pittsburgh that is.













Epps photo courtesy of www.nami.org, Tomlin photo courtesy of www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com.

Almost Here

Finally it's almost time to see real football again! And the Panthers look so different from last year. We had to say goodbye to Mike Minter and Keyshawn Johnson. Minter's departure was particularly sad. I'm not very optimistic about the cats this year. Steve Smith, John Kasay and Julius Peppers are the Panthers I think we can count on to produce consistently this year. As much as I like Jake D, I wonder how long we will pretend he is the answer. And David Carr as a backup doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the decision making down there.