SEA! HAWKS!

And on That Note

Jake Delhomme should be cut tomorrow and the Panthers should just clean house. Coaching staff absolutely sucks and Delhomme is no longer capable of playing QB.

You have a great running attack and force the pass? John Fox and their coordinator (Jeff Davidson) should be fired tonight. Why make this guy throw 42 times?

Another 3 hours wasted watching garbage games on NFL Network.

GO GIANTS! BEAT THEM BRONCOS NEXT WEEK!!!

Dolphins/Panthers pick

Ronnie Brown’s injury means my fantasy team is stricken with the injury bug again.

Um…Panthers win 30-23. Should be a fun game. I should be a lot more excited than I really am. These guys are worse than they should be.

Ireland Get Jobbed Out of World Cup

Leading 1-0 in extra time against France for the right to play in next year’s FIFA World Cup, the Republic of Ireland were completely screwed over by blind referees and subsequently out of qualification for the World Cup. France equalized in Paris off a William Gallas goal and took a 2-1 lead on aggregate (they won 1-0 in the first leg), but it wasn’t legal. Watch Thierry Henry (while you can, because I bet the vids will be taken down quickly) clearly and blantly use his hand to play the ball to Gallas in the build-up.

What a joke. The goal should have been disallowed and Henry at least given a yellow card. Ireland were jobbed and both UEFA and FIFA should look into this error because that ended up being the difference in this game.

Sure, Ireland could’ve made this moot point if they had scored in the remaining time — which was 16 minutes — but it does not excuse the fact there was a crucial missed call here.

I’m an advocate for a referee behind the net for any instances of handball, goal kick vs. corner kick, whether or not the ball crossed the line, etc. and this is why. If 1 ref and 2 linesmen managed to miss this then you might as well have safety by putting a 4th ref behind each net.

France may very well have won this game anyway, but it is criminal that this is their route to the World Cup.

The Fugliest Basketball Court Ever

This is how the 24th consecutive hour of live basketball was spent. Disgusting. It’s an eyesore.

What the Losers Are Saying: NFL Edition #7

It’s NFL season so look out for this every Tuesday/Wednesday. We won’t go everywhere for every fan’s reaction (usually 5-6 teams are picked) but the deemed “best losers” of the day make the cut. WTLAS takes a trip to Chicago, Philly, New York (for the Jets), New England, and Oakland this week. Join me after the jump.

Brain Dump: Thoughts on the Seahawks/Cardinals

The season is done. Unless Arizona loses Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald for the season, then there is no hope for the Seattle Seahawks to win the NFC West. Sure the Seahawks can go after the Wild Card chase but I doubt 8-8 or 9-7 will do much. They tried hard but unsurprisingly they’re not going to contend. While I picked them to win the division that was a lot of homerism. This is a team on the decline in key areas but emerging in other positions. There will be no repeat of the 1990s Seahawks as long as Tim Ruskell does his job. While some fans think the team’s GM has done poorly and dismantled a Super Bowl contender, us rational folk realize that the Super Bowl team was aging and finally got its dues in 2005. It’s 2009 and almost the entire Super Bowl squad is gone. Matt Hasselbeck is probably next to join his friends on that list.

Arizona is a good team. As long as Kurt Warner is under center it will be their turn to dominate a division that has seen the Niners, Rams, and Seahawks have a share of the NFC West crown since the re-alignment in 2003. Looking at their schedule it’s conceivable that they finish 11-5 or 12-4. They got punched in the mouth by an inferior team and ended up delivering the KO blow. Kudos to them.

Time for other thoughts about this defeat:

 

• Colin Cole may be the worst defensive tackle in the league. He gets pushed back 3 yards on practically every running play and is not worth keeping for another season.
• Gus Bradley should channel his inner Jim Johnson sometimes. I like our defensive coordinator. Yesterday I hated the fact we were playing so much dime and nickel coverage. On several instances we had 7 DBs, 3 pass-rushers, and Patrick Kerney. He played a really conservative game and it cost Seattle dearly. I don’t think he has confidence in this secondary to cover Arizona’s receivers one-on-one but that won’t be a problem as long as you bring the house every once in a blue moon.
• Matt Hasselbeck is done. How can you blow a shovel pass? Time for Colt McCoy in 2010.
• I hope Julius Jones is okay. A bruised chest and bleeding in his lung sounds very serious. That said, the performance from Justin Forsett probably just saw Jones’ carries reduce. It’s not a bad thing but you never want to have a game like Forsett did, potentially earn a starting job at the expense of your hospitalized teammate. Get well JJ.
• Fire Bruce DeHaven. Just do it.
• Thanks Nate Burleson. Guarantee a win and get no catches, including a dropped TD. I like you a lot but you really could’ve showed up today.
• Deon Grant = Alligator Arms. Horrible attempt at a tackle by him against Beanie Wells.
• No more Dick Stockton. Ever.

 

The 2010 draft class looks deep. Denver is struggling. Tim Ruskell can strike it rich next year with 2 first round draft-picks. I still believe in you Timmy.

Thank You, Belichick

I picked the Patriots. They were outplaying the Colts all night and managed to lose. Today, I hereby give Bill Belichick immunity from ever being criticized or deemed in a negative light on this website. What Bill did last night was astonishing. It was heroic, it was great clock management, and a gutsy playcall. Indianapolis absolutely needed something like this to win the football game.

I don’t even go for it on Madden on 4th down deep in my own territory. But Belichick decided to ignore the risk and assume that there would be a reward. There was no reward. In the end, there was no victory.

Kudos to you Bill-o. You have successfully kept the Colts’ perfect record intact. I used to hate the Patriots with a passion, but now I can’t get enough of them. Instead of a fake punt, a running play, or *gasp* a punt (!), you threw it on 4th and 2 after you had ALREADY thrown it on 3rd and 2.

You are the man, Belichick. Never before have I seen a move like that snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Go Patriots.

Kill Me

Blew a 14-0 lead. Played so well. Had Arizona on the ropes. Defense takes a giant crap on our chances of winning.

I saw a lot of positives in this game. Justin Forsett was brilliant today, the defense played well in the 1st half, and Louis Rankin is an adequate backup RB.

But we’re done for. Hasselbeck got intercepted on a shovel pass. I’m done with him. He can’t make good decisions anymore.

Enjoy the rest of the season. It will be painful but for now Arizona will be dominant for as long as Kurt Warner exists.

There’s a lot more from this game but it is almost entirely on the miserable commentating from Dick Stockton. The Cardinals took their first lead of the game at 17-17. Kill me.

NFL Week 10 Picks

Wow. 7-6 last week but 1-0 to start this week. 82-48 on the season.

Panthers over Falcons (upset special)
Vikings demolish Lions
Steelers over Bengals
Dolphins over Bucs
Saints obliterate Rams
Broncos over Redskins
Jets over Jaguars
Titans over Bills

Chiefs over Raiders
Cowboys over Packers
Eagles over Chargers (with great hesitancy)
Cardinals obliterate Seahawks

Pats over Colts (upset…sorta)

Ravens 27 Browns -5

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All Hail Manny Pacquiao

Antonio Margarito dismantled Miguel Cotto last year. Turns out there’s a chance he had plasters in his gloves.

Manny Pacquiao, to our knowledge, didn’t have plaster or any illegal substances in his gloves. He moved up in weight to fight a top-tier opponent yet again. The Filipino flat-out dominated his opponent while making the weight sacrifice. Again.

Pacquiao stopped 34-1 Miguel Cotto in the 12th round by TKO (ref stoppage) to win Cotto’s welterweight title. Several years ago he was a flyweight champion that nobody had even heard of.

Now he’s one of the biggest names in boxing and one of the all-time greats. To destroy Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales (twice), Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, and now Miguel Cotto (4 different weight classes here) is an amazing feat.

Miguel Cotto was bloodied, battered, cut and bruised. He was the beaten man and he wasn’t exactly terrible. The Puerto Rican caught Pacquiao with several combinations and Pac-man just walked through them. Cotto is one of the best punchers in boxing and he still couldn’t faze Pacquiao significantly. It was relatively even until…

Pacquiao knocked Cotto down twice. Once in the 3rd and once in the 4th. While Cotto wasn’t severely damaged Pacquiao was the superior boxer and started the takeover. He was winning the trades and flurries they exchanged.

The accumulation of punches was too much for Cotto and after 2 rounds of backpedalling for his life, he finally got bashed with a left hook to the head, and Kenny Bayless stopped it in the final round.

Only one thing left now, and it’s for Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather in what would be one of the biggest fights boxing has ever had. Two of the sport’s greats have to face each other now. They just have to.

Great performance by Pacquiao, and kudos to Cotto for respecting Pac-man in the post-fight interview.