The Tackle of the Year

LeBron James tackles a Miami Heat fan after he made a one handed hook shot form half court to win $75,000.

It was just another home game for the Miami Heat on Friday as they played the Detroit Pistons. But for Michael Drysch, a 50 year old computer technician from Illinois, it is a day he will never forget.

Drysch was randomly selected from a drawing to take the half court shot by the LeBron James Family Foundation. Before taking center court during a time out in the fourth quarter, a friend told Drysch to “put some spin on the ball”. Drysch got more than spin, he got nothing but net. American Airlines Arena went nuts watching the shot of the night! But it was really the tackle of the year that left fans jumping up and down.

LeBron James left the team huddle and leaped on to Drysch in excitement. LBJ’s was cheesing from ear to ear as if he just hit the game winner of the NBA finals. How can there be any LBJ haters out there after watching his excitement? This was a raw emotion, a pure reaction, and the true colors of one of the greatest players to play the game.

It’s amazing to witness the difference a ring can make. LBJ is finally enjoying playing the game without the pressure to prove he’s not just another millionaire taking his talents to South Beach. When was the last time you saw an A list athlete get THAT excited for a fan?

Years from now Michael Drysch won’t remember what he spent the $75,000 on, but he will never forget being tackled on center court by LBJ. The tackle wasn’t just a memory for Drysch, but a great moment for the NBA and one of the best celebrations by a professional athlete.

#Catfish

Here’s what I understand in the short story:

There was a four year internet relationship with Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o and Lennay Kekua. While “Lennay” and Manti never physically met in person, Manti told his father they had met in fear of people thinking he was a weirdo. (It was a little white lie at the time that anyone in his shoes would have told.) During their relationship “Lennay” was in a car accident and then died from leukemia. Ironically, “Lennay” died the same day as Manti’s grandmother, on September 12, 2012. The two losses for the Notre Dame Heisman frontrunner became a story the media widely reported and the heartbreak story was a script college football fans were buying into.

On December 6^th Manti received a phone call from “Lennay” saying she was still alive. Confused, Manti thought someone was trying to prank him and hung up saying the “Lennay” he knew died September 12^th. He continued to speak of “Lennay” in interviews. He then told his parents when he was home in Hawaii on Christmas day about the phone call from “Lennay”. Notre Dame was informed on December 26^th 2012.

On January 7^th Notre Dame played Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.

On January 16^th Deadspin.com published the #Hoax

On January 24^th Manti does his first on camera interview with Katie Couric.

My conclusion:

Notre Dame should really invest in better team doctors and counseling.

Let’s be honest. With the number of social media sites and the ability to connect to millions of strangers is easily just a click away. At some point I’m pretty confident that anyone on the World Wide Web will be contacted by a “stranger”. Sometimes it’s a scam, sometimes it’s a pick up line and sometimes it’s just to chat. Sure you can make friends online, but I can’t ever imagine a normal person having a committed boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with some that you have never met in person or even seen live online. (With webcams, facetime, skype, and the list goes on you can see others live without being able to touch them.)

I really think he was the victim.

He physically heard a feminine voice on other end of the phone for years. There are phone records and voice mails to confirm. No guy spends that much time on the phone to add texture to a hoax. Manti’s family had also talked to “Lennay” on the phone and they never questioned the relationship. They all believed she was real. “Lennay” is a real person that matches the photos that Manti had, but the voice pretending to be the picture and behind the phone calls was Ronaiah Tulasosopo, Manti thought Ronaiah was “Lennay’s” cousin.

What I question:

What I don’t understand is how a good looking guy, a rock star football player, and the BMOC (Big Man On Campus) doesn’t have a line of girls trying to get a Hawaiian Lei. Couric asked him about his sexual orientation and he didn’t hesitate to say “far from it, faaaarrrrrr from it”. I’ll believe him when at least two girls tell TMZ that they know about his Samoan roots. Until then, something some thing smells fishy… Playing for the other team is highly shunned in the Mormon religion and a Catholic school is the best place to cover up a sexual scandal… just saying…

Scam for the Heisman?

What annoyed me about the Katie Couric interview was that she continued to use the Heisman card. The Heisman is awarded to the most outstanding college football player, not to the most gullible story in college football. Notre Dame went undefeated; Te’o’s performance on the field during the regular season got him invited to the trophy presentation, not this story.  

The NFL Draft:

Maybe it was just a cover up to draw less attention on the SEC beat down that Notre Dame took in the National Championship game against Alabama. Clearly his performance during the National Championship game was an illustration that his mind was somewhere else. A player who averages 8.4 tackles a game, had seven interceptions and only one missed tackle all season recorded zero sacks, zero interceptions, missed two tackles in the first half and the misses continued throughout the game.

A 14-42 embarrassment was a reminder to all of college football that you have to “Play Like an (SEC) Champion Today” to win a National Championship. That game will hurt his draft stock more than #Catfish.

A Playoff Classic

The sports gods have spoken: they want Ray Lewis to keep playing football.

Most players would take the league fines, avoid post-game interviews, and just be ready to leave the stadium after suffering a season ending loss, but not Peyton Manning. After his media responsibility he waited an hour and a half after the game to personally congratulate Ray Lewis on the Ravens victory. The moment was captured by an image that looks so simple, but the image is truly a special moment for the NFL and all of sports.

The image of Peyton and Ray standing in the Ravens locker room is symbol of sportsmanship, friendship, respect, a class act, and a heart felt moment by two future hall of fame members.

It’s not easy to win on the road as the underdog and when you’re playing Peyton Manning in 13-degree temperatures it’s even more difficult to win.

The first quarter set the tone for an exciting gridiron matchup that would go back and forth until the time clock expired. Ray lead the Ravens with 17 tackles and Peyton was 38 seconds away from winning the game and ending the playing career of Ray Lewis. But the game changed when Ravens cornerback Corey Graham intercepted Peyton’s pass on Denver’s 45 yard line. Five plays and a gain of 16 yards set Justin Tucker up to kick three points down the middle and give Ray and the Ravens a 38-35 victory in two overtimes.

This game will be remembered by football fans and be a part of history for both franchisees. It was a cold game in a hostile environment full of fans cheers and then holding their breath. Peyton and the Broncos ended the game disappointed while Ray and the Ravens cried tears of joy as they celebrated one of the most important games the Baltimore Ravens have ever won.

Baltimore’s best play all season was releasing kicker Billy Cundiff (remember last year when he missed the 32-yarder to tie AFC Championship game against the Patriots last year?)

Ray Lewis is a special gift to the NFL. There are a lot of guys who prepare, train, and play hard for Sunday, but there’s no other player in the league who plays with the passion that Ray Lewis bleeds. After 17 seasons in the NFL, the end of his playing career is close to an end for Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens. As a fan of football I’m rooting for Ray to take revenge on the Patriots and win the AFC Championship and then one last win in the Super Bowl to end his playing career like the champion he is.

I’m hoping for a Harbaugh (Ravens) vs. Harbough (49er’s) Super Bowl. And with Ray Lewis on the field for the Ravens and Billy Cundiff now kicking for San Fran, all my faith is in the Ray-vens!

Third Times (not) a Charm...

The last post season home game for the Washington Redskins was in 1999 for a Wild Card Playoff (beat Detroit 27-13). The only other post season action for the Redskins have both been Wild Card Playoffs games against Seattle in 2005 (lost 20-10) and in 2007 (lost 35-14). Third times a charm right…

At most Redskin home games the stadium is full of at least 30-45% visiting fans in attendance. (This is based on my observation, not actual numbers.) It was amazing to see 99% of fans all layered in burgundy and gold on Sunday against Seattle. I only saw two Seahawks fans during tailgate time! This would explain why my ears are still ringing! I’ve never heard FedEx field that loud, that excited, and that shocked.

The Redskins came out strong and FedEx was electric. The energy from the team and fans seemed like déjà vu from shaking RFK Stadium.

I’ve said it all season; anything can happen when RG3 is on the field. It was total domination by the Redskins in the first quarter leading the Seahawks 14-0. Seattle fans were throwing coffee beans at their TV’s and Wilson and Carroll almost peed in their pants- they were scared of the Washington Redskins. For the first quarter of the game the entire NFL was scared of the Washington Redskins. A Redskins fan a few rows back yelled “We’re about to the shock the world” and when the game ended, we were all in shock.

Griffin ran on the second scoring drive trying to throw to Garcon and he planted wrong and his knee buckled. He had his knee taped and said he was fine, but he never played with both legs for the rest of the game. Taking away RG3’s legs is a game changer and it definitely changed the rest of the game. 

In the fist quarter Washington had 129 yards and only 74 for the rest of the game. Griffin went 6 for 9 with 68 yards, and two TD’s in the first 15 minutes. He went 4 for 10 with 16 yards, and one interception for the rest of the game. Seattle then scored 24 unanswered points to beat the Redskins again; 14-24. Third time is not a charm.

We all questioned why Kirk Cousins was not warming up. It was obvious RG3 was hurt and running like a 40-year old man and not like the 22-year old super hero that he is. I understand that Griffin wants to be out there and he deserves to be out there, but Coach Shanahan- YOU ARE THE HEAD COACH, YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS! We ALL could see that Griffin was hurt and that hurt the chances of winning the game. Coach, I hope you and Kyle are both praying to the sports gods that this injury doesn’t hurt RG3’s and your future in the NFL. For an athlete with medical history of knee issues and the type of player he is, he’s making decisions to play the next play- the coach should make decisions to play for the future. (Especially when you have the best back up QB on your bench!) With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter Griffin’s knee buckled while trying to save a bad shotgun snap. He was in so much pain that he didn’t even try to recover the fumble. 

Maybe I’m partial to the knees because I’ve had three knee surgeries and my knees have never been the same. I avoided surgery and played through pain only to do more damage. I’m also convinced it’s the reason I didn’t get a second growth spurt.

Who knows what would have happened if KC1 would have entered the game early. But once he let go of the nerves in Cleveland he proved he can play. QB’s protect the ball, Coaches should protect their players.

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t know a lot about field maintenance or even know how to mow grass, but I do know that FedEx Field looked awful! There were so many divots it looked like Charles Barkley has been hitting golf balls before the National Anthem. I thought maybe they just ran out of paint they use make it look camera ready, but clearly they ran out of fertilizer and water and just added some dirt straight down the middle of the field. Horrible! I’m no expert, but that has to be a red flag when your franchise QB, the future of this team, and the only hope in Washington to get back to glory days that you would make sure YOUR field is game ready and safe. ComeOn Man!

Even though we’ve lost to Seattle in the last three post-season appearances this team and Redskins Nation has a lot to cheer about. NFC East Champions with a 10-6 season winning the last 7 in a row was a huge surprise to the NFL. Peter King and most of the ‘experts’ only picked the Redskins to win two games. As we go into the off season we will pray to sports gods that RG3 makes a full recovery and next year we’ll be ready for dessert.#HHTR