SOME THOUGHTS

WORLD SERIES

Why doesn’t Major League Baseball go beyond the borders of the U.S.A. and Canada, and make up Major Leagues in Europe, Asia and South America, and maybe even Africa? In South America baseball is a great sport, which is played everywhere. The fans are real fans and too many of the players are from the area to ignore it as a major league potential.

SUPER BOWL

Europe is embracing football, and the NFL wisely plays games in London to expand the interest on an international level, so why not Major League Baseball?

Japan has it established and invites many U.S. ballplayers to play in their baseball leagues, and some teams have an international reputation. Korea seems to be catching on as is Formosa.

STANLEY CUP

M. L. SOCCER

There are other sports that could use the idea of crossing borders and oceans, like the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer to some degree. The idea is to find the true “World Champion” of it’s sport. So different areas of the world would have their own leagues, determine their champion and send it off to the world competition. Would this not be exciting, and in the end we would have real world champions?

NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

If you think about the excitement that the World Series and the Super Bowl generate, the revenue would be tremendous, for the different countries, different sports and everyone’s economy. But one of the sports needs to start this and make it happen.

The National Basketball Association could start to generate international interest since it is a game that already has international following all over the world. The teams would be on a par very quickly. Why does the rest of the world accept the idea that the world champions play only in the U.S.A. or Canada?

I think the idea makes a lot of sense, and is about due.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

THE WHO CARES? BOWL

There are few dumb ideas that the NFL engages in. One that they do engage in is the NFL Pro Bowl, a game that no one cares about. It started when the AFL and the NFL merged, and they have yet to figure out who plays in it, and when to play it.

The ‘who’ plays in it is the biggest problem. No one wants to really play in it because of the injury factor. It would be a shame if an all star player, and that is what is suppose to play, were to get injured, and end a career on a meaningless game, that brings no prestige, no real money and does not even get the attention of a regular season game.

This is the only game to be played in professional sports at the end of the season. All other sports play in the middle. If you have players heading to the Super Bowl, do they leave their team and play? No they are excused! So if the best 2 teams aren’t represented, why even bother? Since the champs aren’t playing, shouldn’t it be the ‘Loser’s Bowl’?

The NFL seems to compound the dumb idea by staging it between the final championship games and the Super Bowl, when everyone is only thinking about the Super Bowl.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo had a pretty decent season. He didn’t take the Cowboys far, but his numbers were all better than last year, but he was not invited to the Pro Bowl. Cam Newton was, because he exceeded expectations.

By the way, who won yesterday’s game?

That’s all I wrote, folks!

NORTH CAROLINA STATE/UNC

The Tar Heels and the Wolfpack have met 42 times in their history, and 34 times, UNC has walked away the victors! This year was no different than any other, as Roy William’s boys ended all hope for State at least looking like their program was on a par with UNC’s.

Bringing in a 16-1 record against the Pack, the Heels improved Williams record by one more, extending a winning streak against the Pack to 11 straight games!

Tyler Zeller vs. Lorenzo Brown

State was 8 for 32, and one of those 8 was an 80-foot jump shot at the end of the first half by Lorenzo Brown.

But State was in the Smith Center at Chapel Hill with a mission, to prove to the Tar Heels that they meant business, that their cousins in the west were no longer dominating them; that the times had changed. The only thing to change was the winning streak number by UNC. The Heels played with more intensity, better focused handling of the ball and they were sending the message: “Not this time baby!”

Shooting only 25% in the first half and finishing at about 37% for the game, they were outplayed and out scored by a 48-49% by the Heels, which by the way is the tea average.

7 foot Tyler Zeller led the scoring with a 17-point, 21 rebound effort, and Reggie Bullock in his first start after replacing Dexter Strictland who went down last week against West Virginia added 11 points. That Bullock, a junior could come out and spell Strictland is a statement about the UNC program in itself.

The 74-55 victory by the Heels pretty much toned down the Packs estimation of where they are in the competition with UNC, Duke, Wake Forrest and themselves on Tobacco Road.

Prior to the contest, the Pack’s senior guard C. J. Williams said that the team had always been out of the race early in his career, and now they were winning big games against big opponents, and after their win against Miami, they immediately turned their attention to UNC. Now after the shellacking by UNC, Mark Gottfried, head coach has to take his troops home and try to restore their confidence and salvage a pretty great season.

Now comes some real excitement. After Georgia Tech today, an early February brings us the 8^th ranked Duke vs. the 7^th ranked UNC game, fought to the death and with great intensity and pride by the best two College Basketball traditions and programs in the sport of college basketball.

They say you should wait until the final two minutes of a basketball game, and that may be true, but I always wait until February when the game is in it’s height of intensity and things are playing out, because then they all have an idea of just how good each school really is.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

FREE AGENCY AND THE PRINCE OF DETROIT

The Detroit Tigers made the move that no one expected, signing Prince Fielder. But when you think about it, it made some sense and works out for Detroit, by signing Fielder, because they needed another bat with Victor Martinez down for the season. However, that being said, the amount of money for this guy, for what he does besides hit is… well that’s the problem, he is fat and out of shape for a young guy, can’t in spite of his name field, and can’t run. So what do the Tigers really pay for?

So let’s look closer at these free agent signings who don’t come free, in fact, they come very expensively.

Pujols

If the Angels win the World Series this year, it will be a very expensive World Series. When they got Albert Pujols they pretty much said, we are the next champions. That may be true, but then again it may not. The problem is the Angels are paying this guy $25 Million a year, for TEN YEARS!

Pardon me for getting emotional, but the last year of that contract, he is 41 years old! By year 7 probably, he will not be worth that money. No ballplayer is worth $250 Million, not even Babe Ruth in his prime.

Then there is the contract that will end all contracts; the Jose Reyes deal. Jose is a great player when he is healthy. The problem is he is never healthy, and for that money, they should be getting a full-time player. He is an impact player, but he can’t do it on those legs. The other thing to consider is Hanley Ramirez shifting to third base, and the fact that he will not play second fiddle to Reyes. Once his contract is done, he’s gone.

Here is a deal that just does not make sense, yet the owners are all responsible for, because they spend the money. Yu Darvish, unproven in the Majors, spending over $50 Million just to talk to him, and I doubt, even if he succeeds, he won’t succeed $100 Million worth.

Then there are the Josh Willinghams, Joe Nathans and Heath Bells, all mediocre, all probably will not live up to their contracts, all getting inflated numbers.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

BRADY/MANNING

Comparing quarterbacks is really a difficult thing to do. The factors that make a quarterback create stats are at the least variables. Offensive lines, game plans, and how the man felt on a particular day all come into play when you read the stats for the season.

The two quarterbacks have played different teams as well as the same teams. The teams they both faced are not the same teams on the game days they played them.

But if you look at the two men, Brady has all the stats, all the glamour, and all the linemen. But Manning has all the guts.

If you look at the two guys side-by-side, Brady has a slickness that makes him the media darling of the sports world, a real pretty boy with the talents to go with it. He is a great passer, with a ball that seems to sit and relax into his receiver’s hands. Manning throws and gets the ball there, his receivers may need to twist and turn, leap and dive, but the ball does get there too.

I’ve seen Brady get rattled, and like all good quarterbacks, he gets rattled often if things don’t go his way. The same for Manning is true, however, when Manning gets his butt kicked by an opponent, no matter how bloodied, disheveled and torn, he gets up ready for the next play, and forgets about the last one. Brady seems to remember the last play at times.

When things go well, give me Brady, when things seem difficult and hard, give me Manning.

Brady has to face the Giants defense, a formidable opponent for any quarterback, If you don’t think so ask the Falcon, Packer and 49er quarterbacks about that.

Manning has to face the Patriot defense, which can play over their heads at times. The question with them is which defense shows up on a given Sunday.

Manning can win the ‘must’ games, the road games and the ‘underdog’ games. Brady needs everything to be in place and aligned. Don’t get me wrong, he has the greatest coach in Bill Belichick, and he is a sure Hall of Famer, but Manning isn’t done yet, and not by a long shot.

I’ll take Manning over Brady for the Super Bowl, even though the patriots are looking for revenge.

TOM COUGHLIN-MOTIVATOR

Born on August 31, 1946 in Waterloo NY, he attended Waterloo High School where he gained the school's single season touchdown record-which still stands at 19. In Coughlin's senior year, he passed an entry test for seminary school to become a Catholic priest.

Coughlin attended Syracuse University playing halfback with Larry Csonka and Floyd Little, and setting the school's single-season pass receiving record.

Tom Coughlin was wide receiver coach under Bill Parcells when Parcells was head coach f the NY Giants. He is a stern disciplinarian and a stickler for details, all he learned from his mentor, Bill Parcells. (At the start of his Giants tenure he fined players for being two minutes early to team meetings, saying they should have arrived at least five minutes early per his new rules), earning him the nickname "Colonel Coughlin”.

The Rochester Institute of Technology was Coughlin's first head coaching job from 1970–1973. He also held the position of offensive coordinator both at Syracuse and then at Boston College.

After his stint with Boston College, he joined the NFL as wide receiver coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants. It was with the Giants that he was instrumental in the Giants victory in Super Bowl XXV.

Returning back to college ball in 1990, he took on the head-coaching job at Boston College and made it a perennial winner, capping his tenure 1in 1993 with a 41-39 victory over Notre Dame.

Due to Coughlin's success at Boston College he was hired as the first head coach of the NFL's expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. In his eight seasons at Jacksonville, Coughlin led the most successful expansion team in the history of the NFL, as the Jaguars went to the AFC Championship Game twice, the first time in their second year of the team's existence, 1996, was named NFL Coach of the Year by United Press International. Again in 1999, Coughlin took the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game after  a league-high 14–2 regular season record. The Jaguars were defeated: in 1996 by the New England Patriots, and in 1999, by the Tennessee Titans.

Although Coughlin's Jaguars won 49 regular season games in his first five years as head coach, the next three years was only 19–29, and after finishing 6–10 in 2002, he was fired. He ended an eight-year career in Jacksonville with a 68–60 regular season record and a 4–4 playoff record.

Coughlin was named the 16th head coach of the New York Giants on January 6, 2004. A team that finished 4–12 in 2003, the Giants surprised the NFL with a 5–2 start in his first season as head coach. losing back-to-back games, and the Giants at 5–4, Coughlin started New York's highly touted rookie quarterback, Eli Manning. Coughlin was criticized from the media who felt he was surrendering or quitting on the 2004 season when the Giants were still in playoff contention, The Giants would go on to lose six of the seven games started by Manning, who struggled in his rookie season.

In 2005, Manning and the Giants went on to an 11–5 record in Coughlin's second season and won the NFC East for the first time since 2000. It was also the Giants first postseason appearance since making it as a Wild Card in 2002. A sub-par performance by Manning, and a defense missing three key starting linebackers, the Giants got shut out 23–0 by the Carolina Panthers at Giants Stadium. Tiki Barber called out Coughlin and his offensive coordinator, partially because a Panthers player said that "We knew what they were going to do before they did it."

Hoes were high heading into the 2006 season: Coughlin transformed the Giants from an underachieving, last place team into a possible Super Bowl contender in two years.

The Giants struggled starting off the 2006 campaign, with a 1–2 record. The Giants rebounded by winning their next five games to go 6–2. However, the Giants suffered a stunning second half collapse, losing 6 of their next 7 games to fall to 7–8 heading into the last game of the season. After a late November loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Coughlin and his coaching staff were once again criticized. The Giants blew a 21-point fourth quarter lead and lost to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 24–21. After the game Coughlin had said to the media "I'm going to be sick about this one forever." Numerous injuries, excessive penalties, and a high number of turnovers—all three being problems that Coughlin promised to fix when hired as Giants head coach in 2004—had been most responsible for the downward spiral of the 2006 Giants. "Fire Coughlin" chant erupted at Giants Stadium, but the Giants rebounded with a key victory in the season's final game at the Washington, all but securing a playoff berth and perhaps saving Coughlin's job in the process. The Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23–20, in the first round of the playoffs. Coughlin received a one-year extension on his existing contract and remained as the Giants' head coach in 2007.

In the 2007 season, the Giants started poorly with a 0–2 record, but the team rebounded and won 6 straight games. The Giants compiled a 7–1 road record for the season, and they made it to the playoffs for the third year in a row. Coughlin and the Giants had their first playoff win in seven years when his team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-14. The Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs, winning 21–17, preventing Dallas from beating them for the third time in the season. The upset victory over the Cowboys was followed up by a 23–20 overtime victory against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. This victory set up Coughlin's first appearance in a Super Bowl as a head coach.

Super Bowl XLII took place in Glendale, Arizona and the game pitted Coughlin's New York Giants (13–6) against the undefeated New England Patriots (18–0) coached by Bill Belichick. The Patriots favored by 12 pointsfell to the Giants 17–14 in what is often considered one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

The Super Bowl win earned Coughlin a four-year contract worth $21 million to coach the Giants through 2011. Fresh off their Super Bowl season, the team started 12-1 through 13 games, but after the Plaxico Burress shooting incident, the team went 1-3 down the stretch and were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants finished 8-8 in 2009, and they missed the playoffs. In 2010, they began 1-2, and then began a five-game winning streak to finish 6-2 at the bye. Heading into week 15 against the Eagles, with a record of 9-4, during the last minutes of the game, Coughlin called a controversial out-of-bounds punt, when punter Matt Dodge punted the ball right to DeSean Jackson, who promptly took it to the end zone to seal the Eagles win, and eventually cause the Giants to miss the playoffs. This caused some to question whether Coughlin would keep his job as head coach after his contract expired. However, on July 24, 2011, he signed a one-year contract extension to remain with the Giants through the end of the 2012 season

After losing the season opener to the Washington Redskins, the Giants went 6-2 before losing four straight games. At 6-6, the Giants won three of their last four games to finish at 9-7 and the NFC East championship. In their first playoff game since the 2008 NFC Divisional round, they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24-2, with the Falcon's only points coming on a first quarter safety on Eli Manning. In the 2012 divisional game Coughlin coached the Giants to a 37-20 win over the favored Green Bay Packers. The following week he coached the Giants to a 20-17 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game to set up a Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots.

BILL BELICHICK-MASTER PLANNER

Bill Belichick was born on April 16, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Annapolis where his father was as assistant football coach with Navy at the United States Military Academy. He attended Wesleyan University in Middleton, Connecticut, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in 1975. It was there that he played Center and Tight end and also played squash and Lacrosse where he was captain of his team. He is a member of Chi Psi Fraternity.

Beginnings of his career

After graduating, Belichick took a $25-per-week job as an assistant to Baltimore Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda back in 1975. In 1976 the Detroit Lions hired him as their assistant special teams coach. Soon his responsibilities included tight ends and wide receivers in 1977. The 1978 season found him with Denver as the Bronco assistant special teams coach and defensive assistant.

In ‘79, Belichick began his 12-year stint with the Giants under head coach Ray Perkins as defensive assistant and special teams coach. In 1980  he expanded his duties to linebackers, and named defensive coordinator in 1985, while under head coach Bill Parcells, who had replaced Perkins in 1983. The Giants won Super Bowls following the 1986 and 1990 seasons. His game plan was so successful tin the Giants’ 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV it is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

From 1991 until 1995, Belichick moved on to head coach the Cleveland Browns. As head coach of Cleveland he compiled a 36–44 record. In 1994 the team made the playoffs, his only winning year as head coach. Belichick resigned from the team in early February 1996 as the team was moving to Baltimore.

After departing Cleveland, Belichick reunited under Parcells once again as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the Patriots during the 1996 season. The Patriots finished 11-5 record, won the AFC championship, but fell to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI.

           

After Super Bowl XXXI, Belichick moved on with Parcells to the New York Jets.  From 1997 to 1999 Belichick was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Jets. As Parcells stepped down as head coach in 1999, he arranged for Belichick to succeed him with team management. However, Belichick would be the New York Jets' head coach for only one day only. As he was introduced as head coach to the media—the day after his hiring was publicized—he made a resignation announcement, scrawling a resignation note on a sheet of loose leaf paper that read: "I resign as HC of the NYJ."  Soon after he was introduced as the New England Patriots' new head coach; the team that had tried to hire him away from the Jets in the past, Parcells and the Jets claimed that Belichick was still under contract to the Jets. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreed that compensation was due the NY Jets, and the Patriots gave the Jets a first-round draft pick in 2000in exchange for the right to hire Belichick.

Bill Belichick succeeded Pete Carroll as New England Patriots head coach in 2000, Team owner Robert Kraft has given Belichick almost complete authority over football operations, effectively making him the team's GM as well. The Patriots went 5-11 in the regular season and didn’t make the playoffs, his only losing Patriot season. In 2001, the Patriots went 11–5 in the regular season, and defeated both Oakland and Pittsburg to qualify for the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXXI, New England's defense held the St. Louis' offense, having averaged 31 points per game during the season, to just 17 points, as the Patriots won on a last second field goal. It was the first championship in Patriots Super Bowl history.

In 2002 the Patriots went 9–7 and but missed the playoffs. New England finished with the same record as the New York Jets, but the Jets clinched the AFC East title as a result of the third tiebreaker (record among common opponents).

The Patriots' 2003 season started badly with a 31–0 loss to Buffalo in week 1. The team finished by winning 14 out of their remaining 15 games. Ironically the final week of the regular season,  the Patriots avenged their loss to the Bills by the same 31–0 score. They beat Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Round. Playing against the Indianapolis Colts the Patriots recorded 4 interceptions, and went to Super Bowl XXXVIII and defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32-29 on a field goal, which helped Belichick win the NFL Coach of the Year award. In 2004, the Patriots once again went 14–2, as they defeated Indianapolis in the AFC divisional round.

New England opened the next season at 6–0, which combined with the 15 straight wins to end the previous regular season, made for 21 straight wins and                                                                           broke the record for most wins in a row (18 regular season wins in a row), once held by the Miami Dolphins during and after their perfect season in 1972 with 18 straight wins (16 regular season, 1971–73). They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles  in Super Bowl XXXIX and became only the second team to win three Super Bowls in four tries. Belichick is the only coach to it.

The Patriots went 10–6 in 2005 and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round before bowing to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.

In 2006 the Patriots went 12-4 and defeated the NY Jets in the Wild Card round. They then beat the San Diego Chargers the next week, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl XLI winner Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game 38-34. The Patriots were leading 21-3 mid-way through the second quarter, when the Colts came back, it was the largest comeback in AFC playoff history since the Bills overcame a 35-3 halftime deficit to beat the Houston Oilers.

Bill Belichick led the 2007 Patriots to the first perfect season since the introduction of the 16-game regular season schedule in 1978, becoming only the fourth team to do so in the history of the league after the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears and 1972 Miami Dolphins. However, the New York Giants upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII! The Patriots' failure to attain a "perfect season" (undefeated and untied, including playoffs) kept the Miami Dolphins as the only team to do so, having finished their 1972 regular season at 14-0 and having won three games in the playoffs.

In the Patriots' 2008 season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs,  Tom Brady, quarterback suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter, leading to the substitution by backup quarterback Matt Cassel for the rest of the season. With a win in week 2, the Patriots broke their own record for regular season wins in a row with 21 (2006–08). After losing over a dozen players to the injured reserve list, the Patriots still managed their league-leading eighth consecutive season with a winning record, going 11–5. The Patriots, who finished second in the AFC East failed to qualify for the NFL playoffs losing tiebreakers to the Dolphins who were 11-5 and won the division. On January 22nd, 2012 the Patriots won the AFC Championship game when Baltimore Ravens kicker, Billy Cundiff missed a routine 32-yard field goal attempt, sending New England to their fifth Super Bowl under Belichick.

Illegal sideline videotaping

In an incident called "Spygate," on September 9, 2007, NFL security caught a Patriots video assistant taping the defensive signals of the New York Jets from an on-field location. Jets coach Eric Mangini, the former Patriots assistant under Belichick, tipped off league officials that the Patriots might have been filming their signals. After the game, the Jets formally complained to the league.

On September 13, the NFL fined Belichick $500,000—the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the league's 87-year history, and fined the Patriots $250,000. Additionally, the Patriots forfeited their 2008 first round draft. Commissioner Goodell said that he fined the Patriots as a team because Belichick exercises so much control over the Patriots' on-field operations that "his actions and decisions are properly attributed to the club." Goodell considered suspending Belichick, but decided that taking away draft picks would be more severe in the long run.

Belichick later issued the following statement:

"I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight's ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career. [...] As the Commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress. [...] Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect. [...] With tonight's resolution, I will not be offering any further comments on this matter. We are moving on with our preparations for Sunday's game."

Following the incident and its fallout, Belichick was awarded the 2007 NFL Coach of the Year Award, as voted on by the Associated Press.

Belichick has led the Patriots to a 139–53-0 in 12 regular seasons. The team also boasts a 16-5 record in the playoffs, and 3–1 in Super Bowls. They have won eight division titles, including five consecutive titles from 2003 to 2007 (and only missed the playoffs on tiebreakers in 2002 and 2008).

GIANTS/PATRIOTS SUPER

Coach Tom Coughlin

The unlikely pairing of the two teams, The New York Giants and New England Patriots came as a big surprise to football fans. The Patriots everyone figured would come at least close if not be in the big dance, but the Giants were the big surprise. I remember the prognosticators saying the Giants had too much wrong with them. Pre ELIte Manning was questionable, he would never measure up to his brother Peyton, and the injuries for the Giants along with a coach Coughlin who was about to be fired made the Giants prohibitive favorites to even make a playoff game.

Eli Manning

Tom Brady and Coach Belichick were the perennial favorites to go to the NFL finale, and maybe win it all, even though the defense was suspect. The only difference was that the Patriots have, once again: Tom Brady and Coach Belichick .

Coach Bill Belichick

Both the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers proved to be up to the task, but met with two of destiny’s teams, and how do you beat that? For the Ravens it was pretty hard to end the season so quickly, especially the way it did end, with a missed field goal. Some great players may never get another chance and will end their careers with a ‘What if’ note, or a ‘If only’ note of sadness.

Tom Brady

The season is only 16 games spread over 17 weeks. All the weeks are important, and even the bye week takes on significance and importance to a team. The preparation is key to any teams success, and that success hinges on the head coach and how he prepares them for regular and playoff season. If you question that, then speak to Rex Ryan and his prepping his offense this year and why they didn’t reach the playoffs.

I will try to compare the two teams in the next two coming weeks before the Super Bowl kickoff. I will start by comparing the coaches, their records and styles, what is known about them and how they are perceived around the league.

JOE PATERNO

Joe Paterno

It seems Sunday was a big day in sports, with the playoffs and the passing of Joe Paterno. JoePa as he was known, was almost elevated to sainthood, except that the Satin, Jerry Sandusky ruined it for him, marring a spectacular record as a big college coach, who set all the records. He seemed to be a gentle Vince Lombardi, except Lombardi would have had Sandusky’s hide stretched across the Green Bay tundra.

JoePa was a great coach, it was all he knew, and all he ever wanted to do, I think college football has lost a great coach, can we call him a great man? Only history will tell us.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

PRINCE FIELDER

Frank McCourt has a little time left as owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mysteriously, Prince Fielder has not made up his mind yet where he wants to play.

Los Angeles Dodger fans have been waiting for Frank McCourt to ride into the sunset (Which by the way is the Pacific Ocean), and take his divorce, bankruptcy and destructive way with him. He has placed a limit on the payroll, and my question is: if you are selling the team, would you not place as much value as you could to drive up the price? As an owner, don’t you look to make the team as valuable as possible? LA is no small market, there is a lot of exposure, a lot of tradition in the Dodgers and it behooves any owner to increase his stock in his team.

One way to make the Dodgers competitive would be to bring in a big-ticket free agent. Who better than Prince Fielder? The stock of the Dodgers would increase immediately and the team’s competitiveness would go up as well.

With Prince Fielder, the situation has become somewhat murky. The player is a top of the line type, on par with Albert Pujols and Ron Howard. His talent is there, but is he worth what he is asking, and just what is it he is asking for?

The Dodgers are in financial straights, none of the top contenders need Fielder, or are all tapped out right now, the Mets, a big market team have played themselves out of contention for free agent players of impact for a few years, so who could afford a large contract on a long term basis?

Two teams come to mind and they compete in the same market place for the most part. The Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals would be a good fit. Both seem to have the money, but I doubt that either one wants to invest more than 4-5 years, even in a 27 year old player with Fielder’s credentials.

Jayson Werth signed a $126 million 7-years contract, and in his first year went out and tore up the league with a .232 average! Would the Nationals b e willing to try that again with anybody?

The Rangers have the money, they have a great TV deal, they have a few pennants and almost won the World Series, but interestingly, have not made an offer. Is it that his agent has a white elephant on his hands?

So why doesn’t the Dodger owner sign Fielder to a 6-year $160 Million deal? It would bring his value way up, the team is competitive and attractive to buyers and fans alike, and Cecil Fielder could play for the most money, and if he sustains himself with his natural talents, renew that contract for even more.

That's all I wrote, folks!

RAVENS/PATRIOTS

Talk about an interesting matchup, high-powered offense vs. high-powered defense. The pinpoint accuracy of Tom Brady and a great receivers corp. pitted against the slam bang in your face defense of the Ravens. This should be one hell of a AFC Championship game!

The Ravens are going to Foxboro for the second time since the wild-card round of the playoffs two years ago, and are still as fierce as ever. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Anquan Boldin, Terrell Suggs, Ray Rice, and Lardarius Webbare are all heading to Foxboro, Mass., for a slugfest of a game.

Joe Flacco, QB

Of the two quarterbacks, Joe Flacco is the least dangerous. The 27 years old Flacco has started every game for Baltimore since 2008. He passed for 3,600 yards for the third straight season, with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, is ranked in the bottom half of NFL quarterbacks with an 80.9 passer rating. He completed 57.6 percent. He threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's victory against the Texans.

Tom Brady, QB

Tom Brady is the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a season, and will be considered for the NFL MVP award. Brady finished 13-3, as the Patriots ranked second in the NFL in passing offense.

John Harbaugh, coach

Coach Harbaugh has led the Ravens against Patriots counterpart Bill Belichick twice, Harbaugh is 1-1, which includes a 33-14 victory in the 2009 wild-card round. Harbaugh is a defensive oriented coach who led the Ravens to an AFC North title with a 12-4 record. All four losses came on the road, where the Ravens will have to win in order to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in more 11 years.

Bill Belichick, coach

Bill Belichick is 10th on the NFL's all-time career wins list, and has won three Super Bowl rings. He manages to stay competitive as the Patriots have won their division more often than not. His playoff record is 16-6!

Defense-

This is there one category the Ravens should be considered better it is in getting to the quarterback, with 29 sacks this year compared to 25 for the Patriots.

Offense-

The running game shows very little difference, with the Ravens holding a slight edge with Ray Lewis of about 50 rushes more. The Yards per carry run about the same, as do the running backs TD’s

Tight End-

Rob Gronkowski. Enough said.

Recievers-

The Raven’s Aquan Bolden and Torrey Smith are adequate to get the offense moving and perhaps scoring enough times until the defense comes out, but they don’t hold a candle to the likes of: Wes Welker and Dione Branch.

I personally can’t see this going anywhere but New England’s way, with a 2 TD win.

IT ISN’T THE NUMBERS THAT COUNT

This Sunday’s NFC championship match pits two clubs with a history that dates back to November of 1952, when they first met. In the almost 60 years, the 49ers hold an 18-17 edge. That record includes regular and post season games, and the 2003 Wild card game that was a thrilling 39-38 victory for the 49ers.

In 1994, the Giants got blown out of the water by the 49ers: 44-3!

But here is the thing: none of that matters Sunday, you know it, the fans know it and the players definitely know it. The only things that will matter Sunday are the game plans, the readiness of the players (Manning has the flu) and who is better psyched at game time.

The NFC West champion 49ers have beaten the NFC East-winning Giants 27-20  when the teams met in the Bay Area last November, and the Giants are on a run with four straight wins and are confident they can run that momentum up to the Super Bowl.

The Giants came into the league in 1925, and were named after the baseball New York Giants. Wellington Mara was the original owner back in those days. Playing at the Polo Grounds, they eventually moved to Yankee Stadium, and finally to the Meadowlands, where they play now at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

Such Greats as Andy Robustelli, DE, Y. A. Tittle, QB, and a former 49er, Frank Gifford, HB and WR, Sam Huff, LB, Michael Strahan, DE. Mel Hein, OL, Harry Carson, LB, Emlen Tummel, S, Rosey Brown, OL, Lawrence Taylor, OLB and great coaches as Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi to name a few.

The 49ers, a charter member of the All American Football Conference founded in 1946, joined the NFL in 1952. They own 5 Super Bowl titles, second only to the Pittsburg Steelers. They are the only team in the NFL to appear in more than 2 Super Bowl games without losing. Those championship teams were led by notable hall of famers such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young and coach Bill Walsh.

Pride and tradition will be on the field tomorrow, look for a great game.

YO! YU DARVISH

You came a long way Baby! All the way from Japan, and land in a pile of… money!

The Texas Rangers have signed Yu Darvish. They are strapping themselves with a 6-year, $60 million contract. That is a lot of resin for a pitcher to get before he even throws the first pitch in the majors. The Rangers first paid for the privilege of exclusive negotiating rights for $51.7 Million then sign him for a $ 56 Million for 6 years! There is another $4Million in attainable roster bonuses.

NOW LET’S DO THE MATH TOGETHER.

$51.7 million to chat

  56 million to contract

     4 million extra laying around

$111.7 FOR 6 YEARS.

18.6 MILLION A YEAR

@33 starts a season comes out to over $500,000 a start!

Now if he has a headache of doesn’t feel well enough to pitch, it goes higher! Then there is the 15-day disabled list, and the whole thing seems awfully stupid. When you think about it, how many starts is he likely to miss in 6 years? That is very likely.

That’s all I wrote, folks!