CATCHING UP ON A FEW STORIES...

As many of the patrons here at Goldy's know, ye ole tender is a huge Ravens fan and had to take a couple days to get over that loss Sunday.  In doing so I have fallen behind on a couple of sports stories for the week.  SO here is a roundup of what has happened since Sunday.....

The Super Bowl is Set......


Super bowl 46 is set now as we have a tremendous rematch between the New York Football Giants and the New England Patriots.  Both teams were involved in Super Bowl 42 as the Underdog Giants came back to beat the UNDEFEATED Patriots 17-14, led by "the Catch" by David Tyree.  Both of these teams had to earn their spots this year though as both were pushed to the brink by their Conference Championship opponents.  The Patriots were able to escape with an AFC Championship when Baltimore's Lee Evans was unable to use his 9 yr veteran know how and hold on to the game winning TD pass from Flacco, and then Billy Cundiff's missed 32 yd FG.  Plain and simple the Patriots were out played this game, but as they always seem to do, they made one more play then their opponent and earned a victory.  The Giants were taken to overtime by the "feel good" San Francisco 49ers and came out victorious after the Niners Punt returner Williams fumbled for the second time in the game.  The 49ers were over matched by the UNBELIEVABLE play of the Giants Defensive line.  However, Jim Harbaugh's team showed that their defense is absolutely legit with their game play.  In the end this weekend proved that Special Teams is DAMN important!!!

The Tigers add a PRINCE!


I honestly tried to find the sign Prince used as his name through the 90's but couldn't get it added. Scott Boras has done it again!  Somehow got a ridiculous deal from a mystery team in a big player's free agent year.  The Nationals, Rangers and Orioles (honestly this is laughable) were the team names we heard coming down to the wire with everyone convinced DC was going to have a permanent royal resident.  Out of nowhere (and one week after GM Dave Dombrowski said no chance) the Tigers come in and offer a STUPID 9 yr $214 Million contract to the largest Vegetarian anyone has ever seen.  Now I do believe the addition makes sense for the Tigers based only on V-Mart's injury, and I honestly do not think the $23.1 mill per year is ridiculous (its what the market bares people), but the 9 years is ABSURD!!!  I said the same about Pujols' 10yr deal, and I know Prince is only 27, but 9 yrs is just stupid....I mean hello has anyone read the Mayan calendar....Seriously though it seems crazy to me that 9 yrs is agreeable to anyone.  Now the other issue is that they are going to move "The Chunky Drunk Monkey" Miguel Cabrera back to 3rd base where, even when he was in shape, wasn't very good.   My guess is the Tigers have decided that defense isnt that important on the infield, yep Prince is average at best too, and that they will just hit a HR for every error they commit....Then again when your rotation includes Verlander, Fister and Scherzer not many balls are going to get hit anyway.....

The Death of a Legend...


Coaching Great Joe Paterno died Monday at the age of 85 after complications from Lung Cancer.  Joe Pa was the symbol for what was right about college football for so long, and I hope that is what he will be remembered for most.  Joe Pa embodied that University like so few coaches do when they are done.( Bear Bryant, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden to name a few) Joe was asked why he was still coaching at his age and his response was simple, and telling, "My idol has always been Bear Bryant.  He died so quickly after he retired, that I am afraid of the same fate."  Well he wasn't afforded the chance to retire...he was fired 3 months ago amid a scandal that will ravage the University and shook everyone to their core.  Coach Paterno has more wins than any coach in Division 1 Football history (409), and coached for an unprecedented 46 seasons.  He transformed the town of State College and built an UNBELIEVABLE program at Penn State.  I honestly hope that is how he is always remembered because he deserves that.....RIP Joe Pa

NFL PLAYOFFS..NFC CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

This morning I am going to cover the New York Football Giants and this evening the 49ers.  I will make my pick with the 49ers analysis tonight.  Here we go.....

NEW YORK GIANTS

This team has really played some of the best football in the NFL the last 4 weeks.  With 2 weeks left they were 7-7 and no one knew which Giants team would ever show up.  Then sexy Rexy opened his big mouth and Tom Coughlins team has gone on an amazing run, starting with the Jets and now leading them into the NFC championship game.  This wasn't a cake walk either for them as they had to defeat the Cowboys on the last day to win the division and get in to the playoffs, and then went on to beat up the Falcons (showing once again that Matty Ice left all his big game wins at BC).  Last week may have been the game thought that was most impressive as they went in to Green Bay ( with Tom Coughlins fact lubed up with high doses of vaseline this time) and rolled the defending Super Bowl Champ Green Bay Packers, who oh by the way were 15-1!!  They simply out played the defending champs especially on OFFENSE!!!

I know that the big story for the G-men has been the play of their defense, and especially that pass rush (Jason Pierre-Paul may get defensive player of the year), but Eli Manning has become an elite QB this year with the way he has led the Giants offense.  With the emergence of Victor Cruz as a deadly receiving threat, and Hakeem Nicks playing out of his mind Eli has been simply outstanding all season.  He has cut down on the turnovers in a big way and has that offense clicking on all cylinders.  Now before anyone goes off an says he benefits from that 2 headed monster of a running attack, you better check yo self fool!!  (Sorry I get gangsta sometimes)  That vaunted running attack was TERRIBLE during the regular season.  They barely avg 3.4 yes per carry and were almost non existent all together in all 7 Giant losses.  I do believe that their playoff success running the ball has been set up by the way Eli and those receivers have been playing. 

Now they have to go to San Francisco and try to carve their way back to the Super Bowl against the "feel good team of the year"in the 49ers.  These 2 teams met in the regular season with the Niners coming out on top 27-20.  The thing to remember is that that game should have been tied when Eli layed out a beautiful pass to Mario Manningham, who got behind the defense, and he simply didn't catch the ball.  Victor Cruz and that running game hadnt emerged as weapons yet either that week.  None the less the 49ers still held on to win.  With that said let me point something out AGAIN...

Giants last Super Bowl year
Regular season---NE 38 NYG 35
SUPER BOWL---NE 14 NYG 17

THIS YEAR
Regular season GB 38 NYG 35
Playoffs--GB 20 NYG 37

Regular season 49ers 27 NYG 20
Playoffs?????

Tom Coughlin gets his team ready to play, and makes adjustments, better than almost any coach in the NFL.(whether Giany fans admit it or not..how bad did they want him fired by week 6)  Can he pull it off one more time to get to his second Super Bowl ( as many as the immortsl Bill Parcells went to in NY)?  Is Eli ready to cement his place as the only Manning brother with 2 Super Bowl rings?  The biggest question of all is..can this Giants team play as consistently as they have the last 4 weeks when they have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFC all year?  We will see Sunday at 630 pm..1230 hawaiin...

One more thing to think about.  We have seen something very VERY similar to this Giants run before...a team that squeaks in to the playoffs on the last day of the season... whose QB is playing lights out...whose running game has become a huge weapon in the playoffs...whose defense has been phenomenal...whose regular season record was 9-7.....

Yep, you guessed it, Last years GREEN BAY PACKERS......

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GIANTS CHANCES ARE?  WHAT DO YOR FRIENDS THINK?