Ponedjeljak Schmonedjeljak

What words would you use to describe the past weekend?

Awesome?

Spectacular?

Crazy Good?

How about Scrumptious?

Scrumptious it is.

Full of mouth watering sporting events and a smorgasbord of turn of events, this weekend was pretty darn good. College Basketball is finally starting to get on the national map as conference play is starting to get good and the NFL season is coming to a close. The NBA is developing some new story lines (The Cavs are the best team in the league), and did I mention college basketball?

The biggest event over the weekend was obviously the AFC and NFC championships. I got a chance to watch most of the games, and have some thoughts about both of them.

NFC

- The Cardinals have done a great job on defense this postseason. They held Brian Westbrook to 45 yards rushing and 26 yards receiving. This was a big reason the Eagles lost.

- Edgerrin James was the leading rusher for the weekend (73 yards on 16 carries). He wants a ring and is doing everything he can to get one.

- If I told you before the game that Brent Celek would have 2 touchdowns and 10 catches, you would smack me, call me an idiot and not run in the other direction because I would know it too. Yet, that's what happened.

- The reason I love the Cardinals: Tim Hightower scored the winning touchdown with 2:53 left in the game. This has to be the highlight of his career so far. Taking a forelorn franchise and getting it as close to the Big Game as possible.

You know what he does for an encore?

He lines up just to the left of Neil Rackers on the ensuing Kickoff to help with coverage! How many starting running backs in the league would do that?

- Kurt Warner promised his kids that he would get them a puppy if the Cards won it all.

- I think I have a man crush on Larry Fitzgerald. Did you see him in post game interviews?

He is not only a badass Wide Receiver who now holds the record for most receiving yards in a single postseason (with one game to go, yikes!), but he speaks and sounds intelligent and dresses to a T.

I also loved how excited he was when the Cards scored their last TD. He was jumping up and down like he just found out that Wendy's now makes spicy chicken nuggets and couldn't wait to go get a 5 piece.

And Kurt Warner hugged him. And he likes puppies.

- Adrian Wilson cried.

Like a girl.

Like a little girl.

But it's ok because he could break me.

Really quickly.

With his bare hands.



AFC

- If you do not care very much about football, this game would have sucked. It was really boring except for a few plays, but showcased some awesome defense.

- The touchdown pass from Big Ben to Santonio Holmes was lucky. L-U-C-K-Y! Roethlisberger just threw it up and if the Ravens defensive back would have realized where the ball was sooner, it would have been a pick.

- Willis McGahee attracts catastrophe on the football field.

I got a text message last night from my buddy Allen:

"Did you see that hit! Oh my god, McGahee is dead."

Fortunately, McGahee is doing well and has movement in all his extremities. Still, the hit he took last night after catching the ball was absolutely brutal. You could tell before he hit the ground that he was going to require attention from atleast one team's training staff.

And this is not the first time he has been completely devastated in a primetime game.

One of the most gruesome hits that I have ever seen live on TV happened when he was in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. This picture is not for the faint of heart, so be warned. His knee got hit and went backwards!

- We all know that rookie QB's (Joe Flacco) don't historically do well and big games. This game was no exception. Flacco threw 3 Int's including one that Troy Polamalu took to the house.

But....

I dont think it was entirely all Flacco's fault. I think that Pittsburgh's defense did a great job in coverage and Baltimore does not have very good recievers. The leading Ravens reciever was third string running back Ray Rice.

Not good.

- Pittsburgh's punter not only made a touchdown saving tackle, but stripped the ball from the return man.

Sucks to be that guy.



College Basketball
I was able to attend the Kansas game this weekend in Boulder. They are not even close to the same team as last year, but it is still fun to see your team live. Especially when you get seats in the 6th row!

The Coors Event Center is no Allen Fieldhouse. They didn't come close to selling the place out, and there were atleast as many KU fans as there were Colorado fans. Then again, Allen is not what it used to be.

***
Warning: Rant occuring
***

What grinds my gears about Allen Fieldhouse is that when KU got a new Athletic Director (he has done a fairly good job so far) the focus changed from tradition to money. There are significantly less seats for students now (I think about 3,000). The student tickets are now on Student ID's so that they can not be passed from student to student (or graduate with an ID) as easily. This makes those tickets not used (bad) and doesn't get the fans who can't buy tickets into the game (also bad).

The Fieldhouse is an awesome place to watch a game. Don't get me wrong. But it ain't what it once was. The atmosphere is not even close to what it was.

The first game I went to was when I was in 7th grade. My mom, a Mizzou fan but still cool, bought us tickets to the game up in the rafters. I brought a poster and watched as KU won the Big 8 with a win over Oklahoma State and Bryant "Big Country Fried Steak" Reeves on Senoir night. The crowd was electric. There was not even any standing room. It was wild.

While I was a student, I remember KU playing Georgia Tech at home on New Year's Day. Huge matchup. Monumental. KU sent the game to overtime when Keith "Freeze" Langford drilled a three in the closing seconds. I remember the Fieldhouse shaking. Actually shaking because there was so much noise. Later, I watched highlights on ESPN and the camera was shaking like it was on a train that had just row over a series of cows. It was amazing.

Now, even at the biggest non-conference game of the year (vs. Tennessee) there are still empty seats at the top corners. Unacceptable if you ask me. If KU gets to the point where it is not expected to make the tourney, they will not sell out the Fieldhouse.

Rant over.

More College Basketball thoughts:

Wake is the Best team in the nation beating a good Clemson team on the road.

The ACC is the best conference (atleast at the top) with Duke, UNC, Wake and Clemson.

The Big East is good and will be brutal for conference play. I don't think there is one team in that league that is head and shoulders above everyone else. But, the bottom of the league is terrible. Just awful.

My Final Four right now: UNC, Pitt, Oklahoma, and Wake.

Others in the mix: Duke (too small right now), UConn (no killer instinct), and Michigan State (not there because they are in the Great Lakes 11).

Picks for the night:

Syracuse @ Pittsburgh (-8)

I told you at the start of the year that Pitt would be the best team in the Big East and I still believe that. Shoot, they are in my Final Four right now. I still believe that no one will care if they win it all. Pitt plays good defense and gets a home game after losing to a pretty good Louisville Generic Mascot team.

Syracuse comes off a big win at home against a pretty good Notre Dame team. But that was in Syracuse. They have yet to prove it on the road.

Pitt at home + 'Cuse on the road + Redemption for Pitt + Overrated Orange Guards =
Pitt Covers

Texas A&M @ Kansas (-10.5)
A&M has had one of the toughest conference schedules so far playing @ Oklahoma State, home against Baylor, home against Oklahoma and now @ Kansas. They do have a good experienced team with 4 Juniors and a Senoir in the starting lineup. Plus, they have a guy coming off the bench named Dash, so plus one for that.

Kansas is playing at home after traveling to Boulder and getting a W. Not very impressive, but they were able to adjust to a pretty good zone defense when they needed too. They don't have the experience, but they have home court. In conference play you have to hold home court if you want to win. Period.

Due to experience, the return of Coach Mark Turgeon to Kansas, and the fact that the last team to beat the Jayhawks in Allen was A&M, I give the spread to the Aggies. Kansas wins the game though.

Next time, basketball at both levels.

DDSF