The first game today was for the AFC title, between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets, in Indianapolis. There was no scoring in the first quarter, and the half ended with the Colts trailing the Jets, 13-17. Definitely not the game that was expected. But 17 points was all that the Jets would get, as they were shut out for the entire second half. And Peyton Manning showed why he was the MVP this year. The Colts scored two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half, giving the Colts a 30 to 17 victory over the Jets. It was a nice run, Jets, and you had a terrific year, and you defeated a lot of good opponents along the way. But running into the brick wall that is Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts does have an effect on teams. And this was *so* not the Manning and Colts that the Jets defeated earlier in the season. So the Indianapolis Colts advanced as the AFC participant in the Super Bowl in two weeks.
The second game was for the NFC title, between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, in New Orleans. And it was a battle, a dead heat between the two teams, trading scoring drives with each other. The Vikings had two touchdowns in the first quarter but were shut out in the second. The Saints had a touchdown in each of the first two quarters, so at half-time, there was a 14-14 tie. Each of the teams scored a touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters, locked in a 28-28 tie with about 19 seconds to go in the game, but the Vikings were driving, just about within range of a game-winning field goal. And on third down, the Vikings had 12 men on the field and were penalized. And on 3rd and 15, the inevitable happened - Brett Favre got hurried and hassled, and he made a bad decision, and he threw an interception, bringing the Vikings' drive to a screeching halt. And the game went into overtime. The Vikings called the coin toss and loss, so the Saints got the ball. And they drove, starting with a good punt return that ended on their own 39, and they kept marching their way across the field, including going for it on a 4th down and getting it, extending their drive. And they ended up at 4th and 3 on the 22 yard line of the Vikings. And the kicker came out to try a field goal. And he made the 40 yard field goal, giving the New Orleans Saints the win over the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 31 to 28. The Saints are the NFC participant in the Super Bowl, up against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, February 7.
And the part of me that's angry at Brett Favre for not being able to decide what he wants to do, at the expense of holding an entire team hostage (ok, well, actually, three teams over the past few years), rather enjoyed that the demise of the Vikings came directly at his hands, that it was his customary bad throw for an interception that cost the Vikings a potential game-winning field goal attempt. And when the game went into overtime, the Vikings never had the ball, so Brett had to just stand on the sidelines, watching the Saints march down the field, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to help his team. I wasn't ever a huge fan of Brett Favre, but I respected him for what he did, even when I also knew about and saw the many times he had a penchant for really horrible passes that were then intercepted and caused his team to lose. But, when he retired from the Green Bay Packers, I gave him his due as one of the best that had ever played the game, even as I'd been unhappy about his waffling for the prior couple years about whether or not he was coming back each year, and each year, the Packers put their team on hold for him. And finally, one year, they didn't want to put their entire team on hold anymore. And they gave him time, but they asked for a decision. And he chose not to return, to retire, and the Packers moved on. And then Brett started claiming that the Packers pushed him into making a decision too fast, into a decision he didn't want to make, and he wanted to come back. And he was stunned that they weren't bowing at his feet. And in the end, he went to play for the New York Jets. And he played horribly. And again, he was retiring. And then not. At the last minute, he decided to play for the Minnesota Vikings, another team that decided to put their entire team (and their then-quarterback) on hold for him. And he ended up doing really well, which made me madder that I couldn't be happy for him because of his prima donna antics. OK, he didn't want to go to training camp because he's such a veteran, he doesn't need it. But what about the new teammates, people who mostly had never played with him before? Didn't they need time to get used to their new quarterback, to develop a rhythm and a rapport? Where was his sense of team spirit in doing what was best for the team, not just what he wanted to do? I was sorry that the Dallas Cowboys crumbled so easily in their playoff game against the Vikings, but at least now, for the last two weeks of the season, I don't have to hear about Favre anymore. Well, at least other than another round of "will he retire and stay retired" roulette. Be done, Brett, and let me try to respect you again for your accomplishments.
But, otherwise, it's onward to the Super Bowl. I'm a total fan of Peyton Manning, so I will be rooting heartily for the Colts, but if that doesn't happen, I'd still be fine with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints winning, so it's gonna be fun either way.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
NFL playoffs begin and NFL MVP awarded
The post-season for the NFL started today.
The first game was between the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals, held in Cincinnati. I was rooting for the Jets, just because. I was also rooting for a snow bowl as I always enjoy those and I'd heard it was expected to have harsh conditions in Cincinnati for the game.
The Jets did a pretty decent job and in the end, the Bengals pretty much shot themselves in the foot, so the Jets won the game 24-14, advancing to the next round. The weather was cold, and there were snow flurries for a little while, but no real snow to speak of.
This game was a sort of re-match from last week's game since the Jets and the Bengals played each other in the last game of the regular season, but that game was held in the Jets' stadium. The Jets crushed the Bengals then, and afterward, some of the Bengals players mouthed off that they didn't want to give away their secrets and were just holding back for the playoffs, and that would be a very different game. Yeah, how'd that work out for you, blabbering Bengals players?
The second game was between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, a re-match from last week's game where the Cowboys shut out the Eagles in convincing fashion, 24-0. The game was a bit better today, but the Eagles still self-destructed, and the Cowboys beat them 34-14. The Eagles' first touchdown was actually thrown by Michael Vick (who I never realized has a resemblance to Chris Rock) - great pass and an even better reception and run for a touchdown. But that was one of very few highlights for the Eagles amidst a lot of problems. There were the botched snaps when the Eagles' center hiked the ball into his own butt, thereby causing a fumble. There was the botched-fake-handoff-that-wasn't-really-a-fake-but-was that Vick pretty much screwed up, and that resulted in the Cowboys getting the ball.
There was a lot of talk that the Eagles would win this game. They'd already lost twice in the regular season to the Cowboys, first at home and then last week at Cowboys Stadium, and the Cowboys couldn't possibly beat the Eagles three times in the same season. And then there were those that said with how good the Cowboys were playing right now, they could certainly beat the Eagles a third time. And they were right.
Tony Romo was terrific, and with all the troubles he's had in the past few years, it was actually a bit surprising to hear the absolutely glowing terms with which the sports folks are using to describe him - one even compared him to Dan Marino!
The Cowboys play the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota next week. Can you guess who I'm rooting for? :)
On Sunday, the first game has the New England Patriots hosting the Baltimore Ravens. I wonder if that's going to end up being a snow bowl. I'm rooting for the Patriots in this case, even though I'm not generally terribly fond of them.
The second game has the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Green Bay Packers, a re-match of last week's game that was also hosted by the Cardinals, which the Packers won. (Yeah, how weird is it that 3 of the 4 playoff games this weekend are between the same two teams who played each other the prior week?) I'm rooting for the Packers but I'd be ok with the Cardinals winning because of Kurt Warner ... and as long as Matt Leinart sits his ass on the bench the entire time and has absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
The Super Bowl this year is being held on Sunday, February 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Orlando had a rare snowstorm today - while highly unlikely, wouldn't it be funny if the Super Bowl this year turned out to be a snow bowl? ;)
And today, the NFL MVP award was announced as going to Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. It was his fourth career MVP win. While that's a terrific honor, and well-deserved, it's a little less of a happy moment if you know that it's fairly well acknowledged that the Colts would be nowhere without Manning, and that it's his drive and skills and talent that have led the Colts to where they are, which is probably the reason for his MVP win. He is the reason for the Colts' success, and he is probably the sole reason. And that doesn't bode well for the team, even with their great season this year, because a team cannot sustain itself on the back of one player, even a player as great as Peyton Manning. But,in any case, congrats to Peyton on the win.
The first game was between the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals, held in Cincinnati. I was rooting for the Jets, just because. I was also rooting for a snow bowl as I always enjoy those and I'd heard it was expected to have harsh conditions in Cincinnati for the game.
The Jets did a pretty decent job and in the end, the Bengals pretty much shot themselves in the foot, so the Jets won the game 24-14, advancing to the next round. The weather was cold, and there were snow flurries for a little while, but no real snow to speak of.
This game was a sort of re-match from last week's game since the Jets and the Bengals played each other in the last game of the regular season, but that game was held in the Jets' stadium. The Jets crushed the Bengals then, and afterward, some of the Bengals players mouthed off that they didn't want to give away their secrets and were just holding back for the playoffs, and that would be a very different game. Yeah, how'd that work out for you, blabbering Bengals players?
The second game was between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, a re-match from last week's game where the Cowboys shut out the Eagles in convincing fashion, 24-0. The game was a bit better today, but the Eagles still self-destructed, and the Cowboys beat them 34-14. The Eagles' first touchdown was actually thrown by Michael Vick (who I never realized has a resemblance to Chris Rock) - great pass and an even better reception and run for a touchdown. But that was one of very few highlights for the Eagles amidst a lot of problems. There were the botched snaps when the Eagles' center hiked the ball into his own butt, thereby causing a fumble. There was the botched-fake-handoff-that-wasn't-really-a-fake-but-was that Vick pretty much screwed up, and that resulted in the Cowboys getting the ball.
There was a lot of talk that the Eagles would win this game. They'd already lost twice in the regular season to the Cowboys, first at home and then last week at Cowboys Stadium, and the Cowboys couldn't possibly beat the Eagles three times in the same season. And then there were those that said with how good the Cowboys were playing right now, they could certainly beat the Eagles a third time. And they were right.
Tony Romo was terrific, and with all the troubles he's had in the past few years, it was actually a bit surprising to hear the absolutely glowing terms with which the sports folks are using to describe him - one even compared him to Dan Marino!
The Cowboys play the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota next week. Can you guess who I'm rooting for? :)
On Sunday, the first game has the New England Patriots hosting the Baltimore Ravens. I wonder if that's going to end up being a snow bowl. I'm rooting for the Patriots in this case, even though I'm not generally terribly fond of them.
The second game has the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Green Bay Packers, a re-match of last week's game that was also hosted by the Cardinals, which the Packers won. (Yeah, how weird is it that 3 of the 4 playoff games this weekend are between the same two teams who played each other the prior week?) I'm rooting for the Packers but I'd be ok with the Cardinals winning because of Kurt Warner ... and as long as Matt Leinart sits his ass on the bench the entire time and has absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
The Super Bowl this year is being held on Sunday, February 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Orlando had a rare snowstorm today - while highly unlikely, wouldn't it be funny if the Super Bowl this year turned out to be a snow bowl? ;)
And today, the NFL MVP award was announced as going to Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. It was his fourth career MVP win. While that's a terrific honor, and well-deserved, it's a little less of a happy moment if you know that it's fairly well acknowledged that the Colts would be nowhere without Manning, and that it's his drive and skills and talent that have led the Colts to where they are, which is probably the reason for his MVP win. He is the reason for the Colts' success, and he is probably the sole reason. And that doesn't bode well for the team, even with their great season this year, because a team cannot sustain itself on the back of one player, even a player as great as Peyton Manning. But,in any case, congrats to Peyton on the win.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Golden Bear eats the Bird, chopping down Tree in process
The Big Game denotes the annual college football game between rivals California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinals. (And no, I don't believe in spelling "Stanford" wrong. I don't really get that. Now, while I was at Cal, I did come up with an alternate name for Stanford - U.C.P.A - annexing them as the University of California at Palo Alto. And as much as I dislike USC, I don't spell their name with a dollar sign either. But I digress...) No matter how each team is doing in a particular year, this is still an important game, pretty much for bragging rights. And each team's record so far has no real bearing on the expected outcome of the game - just because one team has a much better record doesn't mean they'll win. I remember one year, Cal had something like only one or two wins, and Stanford was doing well and on the verge of going to a bowl game - but when Cal ended up beating Stanford, Stanford lost their chance to play in a bowl game. Good times.
This year, it wasn't quite the same situation. Cal had more than one or two wins, but overall, they weren't doing very well. Stanford, however, was having a decent season, and there was even talk that they had a shot at going to the Rose Bowl. Well, after Cal beat Stanford tonight by a score of 34 to 28, things are not so much coming up roses for Stanford.
Go Cal! The Axe is ours!
This year, it wasn't quite the same situation. Cal had more than one or two wins, but overall, they weren't doing very well. Stanford, however, was having a decent season, and there was even talk that they had a shot at going to the Rose Bowl. Well, after Cal beat Stanford tonight by a score of 34 to 28, things are not so much coming up roses for Stanford.
Go Cal! The Axe is ours!
Monday, October 26, 2009
baby girl is an angel
Players for the National Football League have a bit of a reputation. They get in trouble, they do stupid things, they do illegal things, they get caught and sometimes get jail time. They are trouble.
But that's not true of all of them. Those are the ones you just hear about the most.
And then there are those like DeMarcus Ware, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys themselves have been home to quite a few news-making players, but for Ware, he made news for a different reason. He had a wife that he loved and who loved him. He was embarking on a successful career in the NFL. He was on his way to fame and fortune. And yet, none of that could buy him the happiness that he and his wife were looking for. The joyous news of her pregnancy soon turned to sorrow when several months into the pregnancy, it was discovered that the baby had no kidneys and could not survive outside the womb. The child was stillborn.
Happy news came again with another pregnancy. But again, several months in, the baby's heart stopped, and again, it was another stillborn child.
I can't even imagine how devastating it would have been the first time, but for it to happen a second time is unthinking, unsurvivable. But then a miracle happened. Through circumstances, Ware and his wife were able to adopt a baby girl, from a young girl who wasn't ready to raise a baby and who had initially wanted an abortion but then decided to give her baby up for adoption instead.
The Wares didn't care what gender or color or anything about the baby. (It so happens that Ware and his wife are black and their daughter is white - the pictures of them all together are beautiful.)
Ware is fierce on the football field, but his real joy comes from being a father.
Here's a fairly extensive article that tells the whole story.
Here's a second article with other details.
But that's not true of all of them. Those are the ones you just hear about the most.
And then there are those like DeMarcus Ware, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys themselves have been home to quite a few news-making players, but for Ware, he made news for a different reason. He had a wife that he loved and who loved him. He was embarking on a successful career in the NFL. He was on his way to fame and fortune. And yet, none of that could buy him the happiness that he and his wife were looking for. The joyous news of her pregnancy soon turned to sorrow when several months into the pregnancy, it was discovered that the baby had no kidneys and could not survive outside the womb. The child was stillborn.
Happy news came again with another pregnancy. But again, several months in, the baby's heart stopped, and again, it was another stillborn child.
I can't even imagine how devastating it would have been the first time, but for it to happen a second time is unthinking, unsurvivable. But then a miracle happened. Through circumstances, Ware and his wife were able to adopt a baby girl, from a young girl who wasn't ready to raise a baby and who had initially wanted an abortion but then decided to give her baby up for adoption instead.
The Wares didn't care what gender or color or anything about the baby. (It so happens that Ware and his wife are black and their daughter is white - the pictures of them all together are beautiful.)
Ware is fierce on the football field, but his real joy comes from being a father.
Here's a fairly extensive article that tells the whole story.
Here's a second article with other details.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Go Steelers!
OK, well, my wish for a Pennsylvania showdown didn't work out, so it's the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals.
I'm rooting for the Steelers because I do like them generally, and I like Ben Roethlisberger, even though I wonder if he's going to remember this game because of the concussion that he got.
I do think it's kind of cool that the Cardinals are the Cinderella team, and it's also cool that Kurt Warner is back in the Superbowl, even if his wife does things I find questionable, but there's one factor that makes me really root against them - Matt Leinart. Even though he would know he didn't do anything to help earn the title, I still don't want him to have a Superbowl ring. I want him to stand on the sidelines and watch and know that he can't help them do a damn thing to win the game.
And, there should be some pretty good commercials, so there's that to look forward to as well.
Go Steelers!
I'm rooting for the Steelers because I do like them generally, and I like Ben Roethlisberger, even though I wonder if he's going to remember this game because of the concussion that he got.
I do think it's kind of cool that the Cardinals are the Cinderella team, and it's also cool that Kurt Warner is back in the Superbowl, even if his wife does things I find questionable, but there's one factor that makes me really root against them - Matt Leinart. Even though he would know he didn't do anything to help earn the title, I still don't want him to have a Superbowl ring. I want him to stand on the sidelines and watch and know that he can't help them do a damn thing to win the game.
And, there should be some pretty good commercials, so there's that to look forward to as well.
Go Steelers!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
hoping for a Pennsylvania civil war on February 1
Today is final playoff day in the NFL to determine which two of the four remaining teams will be playing in the Super Bowl on February 1, 2009. I'm not as excited by the game as I might be if any of the teams I really like were going to be there, but there's at least still some interesting things that could happen.
The first playoff game is between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals.
vs. 
I'm rooting for the Eagles because I like Donovan McNabb, and I like the Eagles ok as a team. (And, really, a mighty eagle should have no problem taking down a tiny little cardinal, mean look on cardinals face nothwithstanding.) I won't be super disappointed if the Cardinals win, though, because Kurt Warner being their quarterback has its own entertainment value, but in addition to that, I'd also know that Matt Leinert is in the Super Bowl but is going to be spending it watching the game from the sidelines. That would just be funny enough to sacrifice having the Eagles in the game itself.
The second playoff game is between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
vs. 
I'm rooting for the Steelers because they've been a great team, and it would be nice to see their resurgence. And I like Ben Roethlisberger, even if I can't spell his name. I really, really don't like the Ravens, so I will be really disappointed if they end up winning this game. (And yeah, ravens are powerful and mean, but up against steel - they should be out cold.)
So if everything turns out the way I want, that will set up the February 1 Super Bowl as a Pennsylvania civil war - Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh. McNabb vs. Roethlisberger - how awesome a matchup would that be!
vs.
Here's hoping this is what the Super Bowl matchup
will look like this year.
The first playoff game is between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals.
vs. 
I'm rooting for the Eagles because I like Donovan McNabb, and I like the Eagles ok as a team. (And, really, a mighty eagle should have no problem taking down a tiny little cardinal, mean look on cardinals face nothwithstanding.) I won't be super disappointed if the Cardinals win, though, because Kurt Warner being their quarterback has its own entertainment value, but in addition to that, I'd also know that Matt Leinert is in the Super Bowl but is going to be spending it watching the game from the sidelines. That would just be funny enough to sacrifice having the Eagles in the game itself.
The second playoff game is between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
vs. 
I'm rooting for the Steelers because they've been a great team, and it would be nice to see their resurgence. And I like Ben Roethlisberger, even if I can't spell his name. I really, really don't like the Ravens, so I will be really disappointed if they end up winning this game. (And yeah, ravens are powerful and mean, but up against steel - they should be out cold.)
So if everything turns out the way I want, that will set up the February 1 Super Bowl as a Pennsylvania civil war - Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh. McNabb vs. Roethlisberger - how awesome a matchup would that be!
vs. Here's hoping this is what the Super Bowl matchup
will look like this year.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Clydesdale snowball fight and chocolate-covered bacon
The Miami Dolphins are in the playoffs; Chad Pennington took them to the playoffs by beating the New York Jets, the team that unceremoniously dumped him for Brett Favre; the Jets are done with football for the season; Brett threw 3 interceptions in the game; and the Detroit Lions made the history books by going 0-16 for the season.
So it's time for odds and ends.
I saw the following commercial today, which I thought was really funny and cute. I have no idea how old the commercial is, but I don't recall seeing it before. Budweiser's Clydesdale commercials are usually pretty stellar.
Someone I follow on Twitter posted a link to a particular confectionery item that I find a bit questionable.
I like bacon. I really like bacon. And I like chocolate. And I even get the sweet/salty combination that can taste really good. I'm just not sure I can wrap my head around bacon and chocolate together. I think of bacon as usually being a little oily, and mixing that with chocolate doesn't seem like a great idea. But I guess if it's dry bacon that's settled some, without very much fat, it might be ok. Or it could make me really sick.
So it's time for odds and ends.
I saw the following commercial today, which I thought was really funny and cute. I have no idea how old the commercial is, but I don't recall seeing it before. Budweiser's Clydesdale commercials are usually pretty stellar.
Someone I follow on Twitter posted a link to a particular confectionery item that I find a bit questionable.
I like bacon. I really like bacon. And I like chocolate. And I even get the sweet/salty combination that can taste really good. I'm just not sure I can wrap my head around bacon and chocolate together. I think of bacon as usually being a little oily, and mixing that with chocolate doesn't seem like a great idea. But I guess if it's dry bacon that's settled some, without very much fat, it might be ok. Or it could make me really sick.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Las Vegas Hilton
The husband and I have made regular visits to Las Vegas for a number of years now. We're not huge gamblers, though we do enjoy playing various of the slot machines. I only do slots and don't do table games at all. The husband enjoys craps, and he even knows how to play! We've also enjoyed looking at the architecture and decor of the various hotels/casinos as well as trying out different restaurants.
One place that we have made a point of visiting on each trip is the Las Vegas Hilton. We had originally gone to look around like everything else, but there was the added appeal of Star Trek: The Experience. They had a section that simulated the Promenade from the Star Trek television show "Deep Space Nine". They even had a restaurant named Quark's. There were a couple of stores, some with regular merchandise like t-shirts and plush, and some with the higher-end stuff. They also had an attraction where you were put into the story of a Star Trek happening. I really liked the Klingon version, but I hated the Borg version because at the end of that one, you get rescued by Voyager. Ugh, please, just let the Borg take me then.
We went on the attraction once, and it was fun (and the museum section was cool too), but for the experience and the price, it wasn't something we felt the need to do again. We did enjoy browsing around the shop, and we had dinner at Quark's once.
The other nice thing is that adjacent to the whole Star Trek area is the SpaceQuest casino, which was, to me, a little less stuffy than the main casino, and they had good music too. We always made it a point of visiting the Hilton once on each trip to wander around the Promenade and play in the casino.
Well, the Star Trek section closed in early September of this year. Our trip came about two weeks afterward, and the area was completely closed off, though nothing had been done to it yet. I'm not sure what their plans are for it. The SpaceQuest casino was still there, and the Star Wars slot machines were still there, but the Star Trek machines that the husband had found during our earlier March trip had been moved to the main casino. I actually spent some time looking around the SpaceQuest casino, but I literally did not find one machine that I wanted to play, so I ended up back in the main casino.
We had figured that with the closing of the Star Trek section, there really wasn't going to be any reason to go back to the Hilton anymore. However, since the husband found the Star Trek slots and really likes them, and for the moment, they don't seem to be anywhere else, we'll be going back so he can play them.
I played for a little bit on a machine that was new to me that was kind of fun but which fairly quickly put me in this mega-bonus round that just kept going and going and going like the Energizer bunny, and when all was said and done, I had won something like $60 on a penny machine, so I quit. And then I looked for something else to do.
I had seen signs posted in various places about something called Football Central. Well, we were there on a Sunday, and the second set of football games for the day would still be going, so I figured I'd go and see what it was like. Yes, I like watching NFL games. I followed the signs, figuring it would be some room with some big-screen TVs set up or something. And then I walked into an auditorium, with five huge giant screens. Not TVs, but more like the giant screens that are normally up in any Sports Book. Five of them, with five different games. They only had the sound from one of them on, and it wasn't the one I was most interested in, but that was ok, since I could still follow the action of the one I really wanted to watch, and the game with the sound on ended up being an amazing game. And I got to glance at the other games on the other screens as well.
As I mentioned, it was like an auditorium, not just some dinky little room. They had rows and rows of seats lined up, and it was crowded, but not packed, so finding a decent seat wasn't an issue at all. There were signs about inexpensive food and beer being sold from an adjacent room/restaurant, but I'd already had brunch so wasn't hungry.
I loved sitting in that room and watching the games, especially since I was around a lot of people who were really into it as well. The husband came into the room a bit later, and we watched the various games for a little while.
If I lived closer, I'd so be planting myself at the Hilton every Sunday during the NFL season. I guess that means it's a good thing I don't live nearby because then I really wouldn't get anything done on Sundays while professional football is on.
Here's a link to official information about Football Central, but I'm not understanding the "11 huge screens" thing. I didn't miscount - there were 5. Maybe they've changed it since that web page was first constructed. But no matter - it's still an awesome place.
So, while we thought we'd be leaving the Las Vegas Hilton behind, it looks like we'll still be making visits there, probably moreso during football season if we're in town.
This trip report from April 2002 has some information about a visit to the Promenade. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
This trip report from March 2003 includes information from another visit to the Promenade as well as our dinner at Quark's. Scroll down to about half-way through the report.
And this little trip report is about my first ride on the Las Vegas monorail, which included a really cool feature on a particular monorail as it approached the Hilton.
Here's information about a really cute t-shirt that I'd found in the Promenade during our March trip.
One place that we have made a point of visiting on each trip is the Las Vegas Hilton. We had originally gone to look around like everything else, but there was the added appeal of Star Trek: The Experience. They had a section that simulated the Promenade from the Star Trek television show "Deep Space Nine". They even had a restaurant named Quark's. There were a couple of stores, some with regular merchandise like t-shirts and plush, and some with the higher-end stuff. They also had an attraction where you were put into the story of a Star Trek happening. I really liked the Klingon version, but I hated the Borg version because at the end of that one, you get rescued by Voyager. Ugh, please, just let the Borg take me then.
We went on the attraction once, and it was fun (and the museum section was cool too), but for the experience and the price, it wasn't something we felt the need to do again. We did enjoy browsing around the shop, and we had dinner at Quark's once.
The other nice thing is that adjacent to the whole Star Trek area is the SpaceQuest casino, which was, to me, a little less stuffy than the main casino, and they had good music too. We always made it a point of visiting the Hilton once on each trip to wander around the Promenade and play in the casino.
Well, the Star Trek section closed in early September of this year. Our trip came about two weeks afterward, and the area was completely closed off, though nothing had been done to it yet. I'm not sure what their plans are for it. The SpaceQuest casino was still there, and the Star Wars slot machines were still there, but the Star Trek machines that the husband had found during our earlier March trip had been moved to the main casino. I actually spent some time looking around the SpaceQuest casino, but I literally did not find one machine that I wanted to play, so I ended up back in the main casino.
We had figured that with the closing of the Star Trek section, there really wasn't going to be any reason to go back to the Hilton anymore. However, since the husband found the Star Trek slots and really likes them, and for the moment, they don't seem to be anywhere else, we'll be going back so he can play them.
I played for a little bit on a machine that was new to me that was kind of fun but which fairly quickly put me in this mega-bonus round that just kept going and going and going like the Energizer bunny, and when all was said and done, I had won something like $60 on a penny machine, so I quit. And then I looked for something else to do.
I had seen signs posted in various places about something called Football Central. Well, we were there on a Sunday, and the second set of football games for the day would still be going, so I figured I'd go and see what it was like. Yes, I like watching NFL games. I followed the signs, figuring it would be some room with some big-screen TVs set up or something. And then I walked into an auditorium, with five huge giant screens. Not TVs, but more like the giant screens that are normally up in any Sports Book. Five of them, with five different games. They only had the sound from one of them on, and it wasn't the one I was most interested in, but that was ok, since I could still follow the action of the one I really wanted to watch, and the game with the sound on ended up being an amazing game. And I got to glance at the other games on the other screens as well.
As I mentioned, it was like an auditorium, not just some dinky little room. They had rows and rows of seats lined up, and it was crowded, but not packed, so finding a decent seat wasn't an issue at all. There were signs about inexpensive food and beer being sold from an adjacent room/restaurant, but I'd already had brunch so wasn't hungry.
I loved sitting in that room and watching the games, especially since I was around a lot of people who were really into it as well. The husband came into the room a bit later, and we watched the various games for a little while.
If I lived closer, I'd so be planting myself at the Hilton every Sunday during the NFL season. I guess that means it's a good thing I don't live nearby because then I really wouldn't get anything done on Sundays while professional football is on.
Here's a link to official information about Football Central, but I'm not understanding the "11 huge screens" thing. I didn't miscount - there were 5. Maybe they've changed it since that web page was first constructed. But no matter - it's still an awesome place.
So, while we thought we'd be leaving the Las Vegas Hilton behind, it looks like we'll still be making visits there, probably moreso during football season if we're in town.
This trip report from April 2002 has some information about a visit to the Promenade. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
This trip report from March 2003 includes information from another visit to the Promenade as well as our dinner at Quark's. Scroll down to about half-way through the report.
And this little trip report is about my first ride on the Las Vegas monorail, which included a really cool feature on a particular monorail as it approached the Hilton.
Here's information about a really cute t-shirt that I'd found in the Promenade during our March trip.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Are you ready for some football?
The drought is over. Relief is here. I'm not into basketball or baseball like I used to be, and I was never into hockey, so once the Super Bowl was over early in the year, it meant there was no more professional football to watch. I used to get glimpses of NFL Europe sometimes on a Sunday morning, but then that went away for whatever reason. And there was no football. And there was still no football.
But now - there's football! The pre-season has started, and even though I don't normally pay that much attention to pre-season, I'm so desperate for football that I'm going to watch/record the pre-season games that are going to be broadcast tonight and tomorrow night.
Tonight, the Oakland Raiders will be playing the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have always been one of my teams, and now, they're one of my teams mostly for historic reasons since I have no idea who's even on the team anymore. But if nothing else, maybe it'll be another fun season of watching the Raiders get pummeled.
Tomorrow night, one of my other teams, the Dallas Cowboys, will be playing the San Diego Chargers, who I don't particularly like. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tony Romo does, though I'd prefer for the starlets to be left off-camera. The Cowboy cheerleaders are ok though - I've always thought they had cool outfits. Remember this movie? I do.
And now that we're on the second phase of the three-ring circus that is Brett Favre, it'll be interesting to see how both the Packers with Aaron Rogers will do as well as how the Jets do. I've liked Brett, though I've found his "I want to play, I don't want to play" every year for the last however many years to be fairly tiresome, and I'm really tired of his whole attitude this time around, not to mention some of the reasons people have used to rally around him. Ooooo, those big bad Packers - they treated their star so horribly, they can treat anyone so horribly. Yeah, right, it's just that. It has nothing to do with the fact that Favre has been holding the Packers hostage for the last multiple years, and just when they thought the crisis was over, he came back for more. I know it sounds mean, but I'm hoping he gets taught a lesson and the Jets pay the price.
Oh, and ummm, there's some other sports-related thing that starts today, but I haven't been into the Olympics in a number of years. I used to be huge into gymnastics, but I have no clue who anyone is. I suppose I might watch something if I'm home with the TV on and nothing else to do, but as far as making an actual effort, nope.
But now - there's football! The pre-season has started, and even though I don't normally pay that much attention to pre-season, I'm so desperate for football that I'm going to watch/record the pre-season games that are going to be broadcast tonight and tomorrow night.
Tonight, the Oakland Raiders will be playing the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have always been one of my teams, and now, they're one of my teams mostly for historic reasons since I have no idea who's even on the team anymore. But if nothing else, maybe it'll be another fun season of watching the Raiders get pummeled.
Tomorrow night, one of my other teams, the Dallas Cowboys, will be playing the San Diego Chargers, who I don't particularly like. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tony Romo does, though I'd prefer for the starlets to be left off-camera. The Cowboy cheerleaders are ok though - I've always thought they had cool outfits. Remember this movie? I do.
And now that we're on the second phase of the three-ring circus that is Brett Favre, it'll be interesting to see how both the Packers with Aaron Rogers will do as well as how the Jets do. I've liked Brett, though I've found his "I want to play, I don't want to play" every year for the last however many years to be fairly tiresome, and I'm really tired of his whole attitude this time around, not to mention some of the reasons people have used to rally around him. Ooooo, those big bad Packers - they treated their star so horribly, they can treat anyone so horribly. Yeah, right, it's just that. It has nothing to do with the fact that Favre has been holding the Packers hostage for the last multiple years, and just when they thought the crisis was over, he came back for more. I know it sounds mean, but I'm hoping he gets taught a lesson and the Jets pay the price.
Oh, and ummm, there's some other sports-related thing that starts today, but I haven't been into the Olympics in a number of years. I used to be huge into gymnastics, but I have no clue who anyone is. I suppose I might watch something if I'm home with the TV on and nothing else to do, but as far as making an actual effort, nope.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Superbowl XLII - the commercials and the game
The Superbowl some years can be pretty lackluster in terms of the commercials and the game itself. This year's game contenders weren't exactly who I wanted them to be, but the New England Patriots' quest for perfection certainly lent an extra interest to the game.
We watched about half an hour of the pre-game show. Oh, I mean, the "pre-kick" show. What was up with that name? We don't like "pre-game" anymore? It's too confusing? The entire pre-show is now considered part of the game, so that's only the pre-kick section? Whatever.
Jordin Sparks came out to sing "The Star Spangled Banner". I don't watch "American Idol", so I've never heard her before, but wow, did she do an awesome job. When they first announced that she was going to be singing, I figured she was just another "American Idol" connection, like so much else about the pre-show, most of which I didn't see. But, they announced that she's actually originally from Glendale, Arizona, where Superbowl XLII was being held, and her father is also a former pro football player, so she was actually legitimately connected in two ways.
The Media Commercials
I'm going to start off with the non-regular-product commercials. By that, I mean, commercials for movies and television shows.
My favorite commercial by far was the new trailer for "Wall-E", Disney/Pixar's new animated movie that's coming out this June.
Disney Wall-E Movie Super Bowl Commercial Trailer: Vacuum Love
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I *loved* the reaction when Wall-E got scared. And the ending was just too funny. I didn't think of this so much as a Superbowl commercial because they've had other trailers for the film. I didn't care all that much for the first teaser trailer, but I had seen the second trailer before "101 Dalmatians" when we saw it at the El Capitan Theatre a couple weeks ago.
Here's the official "Wall-E" site, where you can see all three trailers. Click on "videos" to get to them.
I hadn't heard of "Wanted" before, and I'm not particularly a fan of Angelina Jolie, but she looked good in this. Morgan Freeman is also in it, who I love. The trailer looked quite good and makes me interested in seeing the film.
Universal Pictures Wanted Movie Super Bowl Ad
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I don't watch the television show "Prison Break", but I know what the basic premise of the show is about, so I enjoyed the commercial they showed that was actually related to the game itself.
Prison Break - "DIG"
Add to My Profile | More Videos
"Moment of Truth" is a new show on Fox where people agree to answer questions while connected to a lie detector, and they earn money by answering the often awkward and revealing questions honestly. I haven't seen any of the show itself, but I loved this promo, also related to the game.
Moment of Truth - Chad Johnson
Add to My Profile | More Videos
One of the things I like about watching the NFL on Fox (other than having Troy Aikman as a color commentator) is that they have this robot dude, apparently called the Foxbot, who does stuff at the side of the screen when they come back from commercials. He jumps around, runs in place and does all kinds of stuff, kinda like a football player prepping. During Christmas this past year, they put a Santa hat on him at one point, and at another point, they had snow falling on him. He's fun to watch. So I loved that they incorporated him into the promos for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". They had a series of three segments where the terminator fights with the Foxbot, which was a perfect match-up. The terminator's appearance in the first segment was very surprising, not just to the viewer, but to the Foxbot as well.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #1
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I hadn't expected a second segment to this, so it was fun when they showed that the two of them were still fighting, and the Foxbot was putting up a decent fight against the terminator.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #2
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And then there was the third segment, which had a terrific ending. But it made me expect a fourth segment that ended the story arc, so I was disappointed when there wasn't one.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #3
Add to My Profile | More Videos
The Regular Commercials
I'm not sure there was one stand-out commercial, but they did have some good ones. I'll mention some of them below, in chronological order as they were shown during the game. The ones I really like, I've included the commercial itself. Otherwise, I'll just talk about it.
The first Bud Light commercial was about how the beer gave people the ability to breathe fire, with the scene set during a romantic dinner in a woman's apartment. Things go south though, when a cat walks by, and it turns out the man is allergic to them.
Bud Light
Add to My Profile | More Videos
The Audi commercial incorporated the Godfather theme and the "horsehead in the bed" plot point from the movie. I was actually amazed that I recognized the theme.
The Diet Pepsi Max commercial didn't do all that much for me. People were falling asleep all over, but this new great drink which has chemicals, vitamins, No Doze, Jolt, whatever just wakes you right up. The part I did enjoy was the look on Troy's face at the end when his broadcast partner shows the affects of having consumed the drink.
FedEx had a commercial involving a supposed competitor who was using carrier pigeons to transport their packages, even using giant pigeons for bigger packages. The little helmets on the carrier pigeons were pretty funny.
Tide had a commercial that took me a while to figure out. There's a man who's apparently being interviewed for a job, and as he's talking, there's a sort of talking mouth around his breast pocket that just babbles as he's talking. At first, I thought it was some kind of translation service, or maybe something about how you sabotage yourself. I have no clue what the guy was actually saying. Then you find out that it's a commercial for Tide, and how a stain on your shirt talks louder than you. Kind of an interesting idea, but the execution was a bit odd.
Budweiser had a commercial that was reminiscent of the really great ones they've done. There are a group of Clydesdales who are up for being chosen to join the team, but one particular horse is not chosen. A dalmatian takes on the task of training the Clydesdale, set to the "Rocky" theme, which was all pretty cool, especially when you see the results of the training.
Budweiser Clydesdales Superbowl Ad: Hank the Clydesdale
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Sobe Life Water had a commercial where lizards who have consumed their liquid start dancing like in Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Who knew that in 2008, "Thriller" would still be relevant? It was really cool. Oh, and the person in the commercial was Naomi Campbell. I had no idea who she was. I'll admit that at first, I thought it was Beyonce only because I've seen Beyonce in another commercial for some phone company a little while ago, and I had no idea who she was either. OK, yeah, I've heard of both of them, but I didn't know what they actually looked like. So sue me.
Sobe Life Water Super Bowl Commercial: Naomi Campbell
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Pepsi had a commercial where Justin Timberlake was basically being dragged all over because of the power that someone was using in drinking their Pepsi through a straw. Kinda weird, kinda funny. Oh, and it took me a while to recognize him too. Feel better?
The Vitamin Water commercial with Shaquille O'Neal as a jockey was kinda funny.
Bud Light had another pretty cool commercial about a caveman who invents the wheel, but the cavemen are unclear on the concept of how to use it. I love the last line of the commercial.
Bud Light Super Bowl Commercial: Cave Man Invents Wheel
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And then I saw the commercial for a car that I'm really supposed to buy, which is being released in June. The car is called the Genesis. I so have to buy this car. Yes, I base my car-buying decisions on the name of the car, the color of the instrument panel, whether or not it has a cupholder and a myriad of other important considerations. So buying a car called the Genesis would seem to be a no-brainer, right? But it's made by Hyundai. I don't want a Hyundai. I can't buy a Hyundai. (The husband pointed out that it's a fairly large car, and I don't generally like driving larger cars. But I could probably get used to that. So that's not the stumbling block.) I don't want a Hyundai, but I have to have the Genesis. I'm so conflicted.
E-trade had a commercial with a talking baby buying stock online that was kinda funny. It wasn't as weird or creepy as other talking baby commercials, so it looks like they've got the talking trick worked out better. I can't imagine that the baby spitting up on the keyboard was good for it.
Coke had a commercial involving the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that I loved. They had giant balloon floats of Stewie from "Family Guy" and of Underdog, and they're both fighting for the giant balloon float of a Coke, but ultimately, an unlikely victor appears.
Coca Cola
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Coke had another commercial where a Democrat and a Republican were fighting during a debate but sharing a Coke made everything better. Pretty topical at this time. I only wish Coke really worked like that.
E-trade had a second commercial with the talking baby, who used the money that he saved to hire a clown, but then he made a realization. Had I not already said that?
If you missed the commercials or want to see them again, all of the commercials run during the Superbowl are available here.
OK, onto the game itself. What the heck was with the 400 people all present at the coin toss?
The Giants won the coin toss, and they had a nice drive down the field which resulted in a field goal.
OK, slight break here. I loved watching Troy Aikman in his day, and I think he does a great job with the commentary, but dude, you're driving me crazy with one thing. At one point, and I don't even know who or what he was talking about, he said someone or something was "very difficult to defense". He said something similar to this at some point during the regular season (or maybe it was a playoff game - I can't remember), and I remember staring at the TV at that point. So apparently, Troy has no idea how to use "defense" versus "defend". Troy, dude, call me, we'll talk.
At the end of the first quarter, the Giants were leading the Patriots, 3 - 0. The Patriots didn't score in the first quarter really only as a technicality, because after a Giants penalty, the Patriots were on the 1 yard line. They didn't manage to score before the quarter was over, but they did score the touchdown within the first 3 seconds of the start of the second quarter. That was all the scoring that would happen in that quarter, and at halftime, the Patriots were leading the Giants, 7 - 3.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and then with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Giants scored a touchdown, putting them ahead of the Patriots 10 - 7. But about 8 minutes later, the Patriots answered with their own touchdown, putting them back in front by a score of 14 - 10.
And then came the play of the game, late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots defense was after New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and it looked like they had him sacked, with at least one Patriots defense player having a hold of Manning's jersey at one point. But Manning miraculously manages to get away as well as throw a pass that gets caught and sets up the touchdown that the Giants score with 35 seconds left in the game.
The Patriots try to come back, but their efforts are shut down by the Giants' defense, who even sack Brady once on the Patriots' final drive.
The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots by a score of 17 - 14 in Superbowl XLII, fueling discussions that will last for quite some time as to the perception of the Patriots, who had a perfect 16 - 0 regular season and two playoff wins but who failed to win the biggest game of the season.
The real MVPs of the game were the New York Giants defense, but because there wasn't necessarily one standout player and they couldn't give the MVP to the entire Giants defense, the MVP ended up being awarded to Eli Manning, probably because of his spectacular fourth quarter play. Brother Peyton Manning won the MVP when his Indianapolis Colts won the Superbowl last year, so they're the first brothers to win back-to-back Superbowl games and MVP awards. But Eli Manning so needs to give seriously nice gifts to this defense.
Most people had expected the Patriots to win the game. Even those who were picking the Giants seemed to do so out of a sense of loyalty to the team, not necessarily because they really thought they were going to win. The spread was 12 points, though I would have seriously taken that bet. Given everything going on with the Patriots and Giants in the last two weeks, I still thought the Patriots would win, but I didn't think they'd beat the Giants by 12 points, so I thought that was a good bet to take.
But from the very beginning of the game, the eventual upset was being set up. The Giants got the ball first, and they managed to march down the field. They weren't able to get a touchdown but at least managed to get on the scoreboard first with a field goal. And then the Giants defense showed how amazing they were. Tom Brady's first two passes were incomplete, and the Giants defense was already getting to him. During the course of the game, Brady was sacked and knocked down quite a bit, and he never really seemed comfortable and in a groove, so completely against what we've been used to seeing with him all season.
On a side note, I'd heard this story earlier in the week that a couple weeks ago, the Patriots had already applied for a trademark of "19-0" and "19-0 The Perfect Season". That did not go over well with a lot of people, including the New York Post. I found it hysterical that the Post then proceeded to apply for a trademark of "18-1". Here's the New York Post article about that.
I've gotta get a copy of the New York Post today.
Oh, and the Boston Globe was already planning to release a book entitled "19-0: The Historic Championship Season of New England's Unbeatable Patriots". They're either going to have to scrap the book completely or rework the book and the title.
Congratulations to the champions of Superbowl XLII, the New York Giants!
We watched about half an hour of the pre-game show. Oh, I mean, the "pre-kick" show. What was up with that name? We don't like "pre-game" anymore? It's too confusing? The entire pre-show is now considered part of the game, so that's only the pre-kick section? Whatever.
Jordin Sparks came out to sing "The Star Spangled Banner". I don't watch "American Idol", so I've never heard her before, but wow, did she do an awesome job. When they first announced that she was going to be singing, I figured she was just another "American Idol" connection, like so much else about the pre-show, most of which I didn't see. But, they announced that she's actually originally from Glendale, Arizona, where Superbowl XLII was being held, and her father is also a former pro football player, so she was actually legitimately connected in two ways.
The Media Commercials
I'm going to start off with the non-regular-product commercials. By that, I mean, commercials for movies and television shows.
My favorite commercial by far was the new trailer for "Wall-E", Disney/Pixar's new animated movie that's coming out this June.
Disney Wall-E Movie Super Bowl Commercial Trailer: Vacuum Love
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I *loved* the reaction when Wall-E got scared. And the ending was just too funny. I didn't think of this so much as a Superbowl commercial because they've had other trailers for the film. I didn't care all that much for the first teaser trailer, but I had seen the second trailer before "101 Dalmatians" when we saw it at the El Capitan Theatre a couple weeks ago.
Here's the official "Wall-E" site, where you can see all three trailers. Click on "videos" to get to them.
I hadn't heard of "Wanted" before, and I'm not particularly a fan of Angelina Jolie, but she looked good in this. Morgan Freeman is also in it, who I love. The trailer looked quite good and makes me interested in seeing the film.
Universal Pictures Wanted Movie Super Bowl Ad
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I don't watch the television show "Prison Break", but I know what the basic premise of the show is about, so I enjoyed the commercial they showed that was actually related to the game itself.
Prison Break - "DIG"
Add to My Profile | More Videos
"Moment of Truth" is a new show on Fox where people agree to answer questions while connected to a lie detector, and they earn money by answering the often awkward and revealing questions honestly. I haven't seen any of the show itself, but I loved this promo, also related to the game.
Moment of Truth - Chad Johnson
Add to My Profile | More Videos
One of the things I like about watching the NFL on Fox (other than having Troy Aikman as a color commentator) is that they have this robot dude, apparently called the Foxbot, who does stuff at the side of the screen when they come back from commercials. He jumps around, runs in place and does all kinds of stuff, kinda like a football player prepping. During Christmas this past year, they put a Santa hat on him at one point, and at another point, they had snow falling on him. He's fun to watch. So I loved that they incorporated him into the promos for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". They had a series of three segments where the terminator fights with the Foxbot, which was a perfect match-up. The terminator's appearance in the first segment was very surprising, not just to the viewer, but to the Foxbot as well.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #1
Add to My Profile | More Videos
I hadn't expected a second segment to this, so it was fun when they showed that the two of them were still fighting, and the Foxbot was putting up a decent fight against the terminator.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #2
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And then there was the third segment, which had a terrific ending. But it made me expect a fourth segment that ended the story arc, so I was disappointed when there wasn't one.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #3
Add to My Profile | More Videos
The Regular Commercials
I'm not sure there was one stand-out commercial, but they did have some good ones. I'll mention some of them below, in chronological order as they were shown during the game. The ones I really like, I've included the commercial itself. Otherwise, I'll just talk about it.
The first Bud Light commercial was about how the beer gave people the ability to breathe fire, with the scene set during a romantic dinner in a woman's apartment. Things go south though, when a cat walks by, and it turns out the man is allergic to them.
Bud Light
Add to My Profile | More Videos
The Audi commercial incorporated the Godfather theme and the "horsehead in the bed" plot point from the movie. I was actually amazed that I recognized the theme.
The Diet Pepsi Max commercial didn't do all that much for me. People were falling asleep all over, but this new great drink which has chemicals, vitamins, No Doze, Jolt, whatever just wakes you right up. The part I did enjoy was the look on Troy's face at the end when his broadcast partner shows the affects of having consumed the drink.
FedEx had a commercial involving a supposed competitor who was using carrier pigeons to transport their packages, even using giant pigeons for bigger packages. The little helmets on the carrier pigeons were pretty funny.
Tide had a commercial that took me a while to figure out. There's a man who's apparently being interviewed for a job, and as he's talking, there's a sort of talking mouth around his breast pocket that just babbles as he's talking. At first, I thought it was some kind of translation service, or maybe something about how you sabotage yourself. I have no clue what the guy was actually saying. Then you find out that it's a commercial for Tide, and how a stain on your shirt talks louder than you. Kind of an interesting idea, but the execution was a bit odd.
Budweiser had a commercial that was reminiscent of the really great ones they've done. There are a group of Clydesdales who are up for being chosen to join the team, but one particular horse is not chosen. A dalmatian takes on the task of training the Clydesdale, set to the "Rocky" theme, which was all pretty cool, especially when you see the results of the training.
Budweiser Clydesdales Superbowl Ad: Hank the Clydesdale
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Sobe Life Water had a commercial where lizards who have consumed their liquid start dancing like in Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Who knew that in 2008, "Thriller" would still be relevant? It was really cool. Oh, and the person in the commercial was Naomi Campbell. I had no idea who she was. I'll admit that at first, I thought it was Beyonce only because I've seen Beyonce in another commercial for some phone company a little while ago, and I had no idea who she was either. OK, yeah, I've heard of both of them, but I didn't know what they actually looked like. So sue me.
Sobe Life Water Super Bowl Commercial: Naomi Campbell
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Pepsi had a commercial where Justin Timberlake was basically being dragged all over because of the power that someone was using in drinking their Pepsi through a straw. Kinda weird, kinda funny. Oh, and it took me a while to recognize him too. Feel better?
The Vitamin Water commercial with Shaquille O'Neal as a jockey was kinda funny.
Bud Light had another pretty cool commercial about a caveman who invents the wheel, but the cavemen are unclear on the concept of how to use it. I love the last line of the commercial.
Bud Light Super Bowl Commercial: Cave Man Invents Wheel
Add to My Profile | More Videos
And then I saw the commercial for a car that I'm really supposed to buy, which is being released in June. The car is called the Genesis. I so have to buy this car. Yes, I base my car-buying decisions on the name of the car, the color of the instrument panel, whether or not it has a cupholder and a myriad of other important considerations. So buying a car called the Genesis would seem to be a no-brainer, right? But it's made by Hyundai. I don't want a Hyundai. I can't buy a Hyundai. (The husband pointed out that it's a fairly large car, and I don't generally like driving larger cars. But I could probably get used to that. So that's not the stumbling block.) I don't want a Hyundai, but I have to have the Genesis. I'm so conflicted.
E-trade had a commercial with a talking baby buying stock online that was kinda funny. It wasn't as weird or creepy as other talking baby commercials, so it looks like they've got the talking trick worked out better. I can't imagine that the baby spitting up on the keyboard was good for it.
Coke had a commercial involving the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that I loved. They had giant balloon floats of Stewie from "Family Guy" and of Underdog, and they're both fighting for the giant balloon float of a Coke, but ultimately, an unlikely victor appears.
Coca Cola
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Coke had another commercial where a Democrat and a Republican were fighting during a debate but sharing a Coke made everything better. Pretty topical at this time. I only wish Coke really worked like that.
E-trade had a second commercial with the talking baby, who used the money that he saved to hire a clown, but then he made a realization. Had I not already said that?
If you missed the commercials or want to see them again, all of the commercials run during the Superbowl are available here.
OK, onto the game itself. What the heck was with the 400 people all present at the coin toss?
The Giants won the coin toss, and they had a nice drive down the field which resulted in a field goal.
OK, slight break here. I loved watching Troy Aikman in his day, and I think he does a great job with the commentary, but dude, you're driving me crazy with one thing. At one point, and I don't even know who or what he was talking about, he said someone or something was "very difficult to defense". He said something similar to this at some point during the regular season (or maybe it was a playoff game - I can't remember), and I remember staring at the TV at that point. So apparently, Troy has no idea how to use "defense" versus "defend". Troy, dude, call me, we'll talk.
At the end of the first quarter, the Giants were leading the Patriots, 3 - 0. The Patriots didn't score in the first quarter really only as a technicality, because after a Giants penalty, the Patriots were on the 1 yard line. They didn't manage to score before the quarter was over, but they did score the touchdown within the first 3 seconds of the start of the second quarter. That was all the scoring that would happen in that quarter, and at halftime, the Patriots were leading the Giants, 7 - 3.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and then with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Giants scored a touchdown, putting them ahead of the Patriots 10 - 7. But about 8 minutes later, the Patriots answered with their own touchdown, putting them back in front by a score of 14 - 10.
And then came the play of the game, late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots defense was after New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and it looked like they had him sacked, with at least one Patriots defense player having a hold of Manning's jersey at one point. But Manning miraculously manages to get away as well as throw a pass that gets caught and sets up the touchdown that the Giants score with 35 seconds left in the game.
The Patriots try to come back, but their efforts are shut down by the Giants' defense, who even sack Brady once on the Patriots' final drive.
The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots by a score of 17 - 14 in Superbowl XLII, fueling discussions that will last for quite some time as to the perception of the Patriots, who had a perfect 16 - 0 regular season and two playoff wins but who failed to win the biggest game of the season.
The real MVPs of the game were the New York Giants defense, but because there wasn't necessarily one standout player and they couldn't give the MVP to the entire Giants defense, the MVP ended up being awarded to Eli Manning, probably because of his spectacular fourth quarter play. Brother Peyton Manning won the MVP when his Indianapolis Colts won the Superbowl last year, so they're the first brothers to win back-to-back Superbowl games and MVP awards. But Eli Manning so needs to give seriously nice gifts to this defense.
Most people had expected the Patriots to win the game. Even those who were picking the Giants seemed to do so out of a sense of loyalty to the team, not necessarily because they really thought they were going to win. The spread was 12 points, though I would have seriously taken that bet. Given everything going on with the Patriots and Giants in the last two weeks, I still thought the Patriots would win, but I didn't think they'd beat the Giants by 12 points, so I thought that was a good bet to take.
But from the very beginning of the game, the eventual upset was being set up. The Giants got the ball first, and they managed to march down the field. They weren't able to get a touchdown but at least managed to get on the scoreboard first with a field goal. And then the Giants defense showed how amazing they were. Tom Brady's first two passes were incomplete, and the Giants defense was already getting to him. During the course of the game, Brady was sacked and knocked down quite a bit, and he never really seemed comfortable and in a groove, so completely against what we've been used to seeing with him all season.
On a side note, I'd heard this story earlier in the week that a couple weeks ago, the Patriots had already applied for a trademark of "19-0" and "19-0 The Perfect Season". That did not go over well with a lot of people, including the New York Post. I found it hysterical that the Post then proceeded to apply for a trademark of "18-1". Here's the New York Post article about that.
I've gotta get a copy of the New York Post today.
Oh, and the Boston Globe was already planning to release a book entitled "19-0: The Historic Championship Season of New England's Unbeatable Patriots". They're either going to have to scrap the book completely or rework the book and the title.
Congratulations to the champions of Superbowl XLII, the New York Giants!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
my football schedule
So we were watching the NFL playoffs today, and I was noticing that there are some similar-type team names. The husband and I actually managed to come up with the names of all the teams on our own - he knew there were 32 teams. When we were missing the last two, he came up with the Saints, and I ended up coming up with the last one - the Rams.
Here are the match-ups I came up with:
Tennessee Titans vs. New York Giants
TITANS/GIANTS - Obvious connection.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia Eagles
SEAHAWKS/EAGLERS - Two prey birds.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Washington Redskins
CHIEFS/REDSKINS - Obvious connection.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Carolina Panthers
JAGUARS/PANTHERS - Two big cats.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings
BUCCANEERS/VIKINGS - Ship-based marauders.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens
FALCONS/RAVENS - Two prey birds.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
COLTS/BRONCOS - Two kinds of horses.
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
PACKERS/STEELERS - Two blue-collar workers.
Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals
LIONS/BENGALS - Two big cats.
St. Louis Rams vs. San Diego Chargers
RAMS/CHARGERS - Rams are known for charging.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys
49ERS/COWBOYS - Same kind of time period.
New Orleans Saints vs. Oakland Raiders
SAINTS/RAIDERS - Saints and sinners.
Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears
BROWNS/BEARS - Lots of bears are brown.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Buffalo Bills
CARDINALS/BILLS - The bird has a bill.
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
JETS/DOLPHINS - Jets fly through the air, Dolphins fly through the water.
New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans
PATRIOTS/TEXANS - No connection really, but they're the only ones left, and it would just be funny to see the Patriots kick the Texans' ass, especially since the Texans have the stupidest name ever.
The husband thought it would be fun to have the teams actually play and then see who is the final winner, but we don't have the John Madden game.
Here are the match-ups I came up with:
Tennessee Titans vs. New York Giants
TITANS/GIANTS - Obvious connection.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia Eagles
SEAHAWKS/EAGLERS - Two prey birds.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Washington Redskins
CHIEFS/REDSKINS - Obvious connection.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Carolina Panthers
JAGUARS/PANTHERS - Two big cats.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings
BUCCANEERS/VIKINGS - Ship-based marauders.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens
FALCONS/RAVENS - Two prey birds.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
COLTS/BRONCOS - Two kinds of horses.
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
PACKERS/STEELERS - Two blue-collar workers.
Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals
LIONS/BENGALS - Two big cats.
St. Louis Rams vs. San Diego Chargers
RAMS/CHARGERS - Rams are known for charging.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys
49ERS/COWBOYS - Same kind of time period.
New Orleans Saints vs. Oakland Raiders
SAINTS/RAIDERS - Saints and sinners.
Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears
BROWNS/BEARS - Lots of bears are brown.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Buffalo Bills
CARDINALS/BILLS - The bird has a bill.
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
JETS/DOLPHINS - Jets fly through the air, Dolphins fly through the water.
New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans
PATRIOTS/TEXANS - No connection really, but they're the only ones left, and it would just be funny to see the Patriots kick the Texans' ass, especially since the Texans have the stupidest name ever.
The husband thought it would be fun to have the teams actually play and then see who is the final winner, but we don't have the John Madden game.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Stu Nahan - goodbye and thanks (oh, yeah, and the Patriots)
I heard earlier this week that Stu Nahan had died. He's someone I haven't heard about in a long time, but he was certainly someone I heard a lot when I was a kid. I grew up with brothers who were really into sports, sometimes playing, mostly watching, so I learned to do the same. There were many, many nights when I would watch Stu Nahan's sports reports. I can't really tell you anything specific about him, but I loved his sportscasts. He just had a way of telling the stories, and he was smart. I missed seeing him as he got older, and then I started watching Fred Roggin. I'm glad to see that Fred Roggin refers to Stu Nahan as a friend and mentor. No wonder I liked Roggin too. He learned from the best.
Nahan was apparently fighting cancer and beat it for a time but eventually succumbed.
My best to his wife and family. Thanks, Stu, for feeding and stoking my interest in sports.
Here's one story about Stu Nahan's death.
And on a related note, I guess I should say that the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants today, completing the Patriots' perfect 16-0 season. The Giants actually played quite well, and they not only scored repeatedly against the Patriots, but they were holding the Patriots offense as well. But in the end, the Patriots pulled through, though I don't think most people expected them to win by only 3 points. In the process of completing their perfect season, they also broke three NFL records - most points scored in a single season (589), most touchdown passes thrown in a single season (Brady - 50), and most touchdown receptions in a single season (Moss - 23). I'm not a Patriots fan, but you have to give credit where credit is due.
Nahan was apparently fighting cancer and beat it for a time but eventually succumbed.
My best to his wife and family. Thanks, Stu, for feeding and stoking my interest in sports.
Here's one story about Stu Nahan's death.
And on a related note, I guess I should say that the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants today, completing the Patriots' perfect 16-0 season. The Giants actually played quite well, and they not only scored repeatedly against the Patriots, but they were holding the Patriots offense as well. But in the end, the Patriots pulled through, though I don't think most people expected them to win by only 3 points. In the process of completing their perfect season, they also broke three NFL records - most points scored in a single season (589), most touchdown passes thrown in a single season (Brady - 50), and most touchdown receptions in a single season (Moss - 23). I'm not a Patriots fan, but you have to give credit where credit is due.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
