Disney's New Ratings Plan

Disney, Inc., you clever, clever business. I see what's going on here. You own ESPN and ABC. ABC's ratings for Monday night have continuously gone downhill. So you take two of the worst, most god-awful teams in the NFL, and put them on ESPN on Monday Night Football. No sports fan in their right mind would watch those teams play, so all the regular MNF viewers flip channels, and hopefully drift over and watch some of the great programming ABC has to offer.

That is the reason you scheduled San Francisco and Arizona to play the opening Monday Night Football game of the season, right? Because if that's not the reason, then why in the world do you have two teams who combined for a 12-20 record last season facing off in the opener? Why on earth are the Arizona Cardinals, the worst franchise in NFL history, playing the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has won 13 games over the past 4 seasons.

It just doesn't make sense...

A New Champion has Emerged

Every so often, I come across a name for a stadium that is just a little bit worse than the one I currently considered having the worst stadium name in sports. As of about ten minutes ago, I believed the title went to the City of Glendale as a whole, not just one particular stadium. Not only is the "University of Phoenix Stadium" in the city, but it is also home to the "Jobing.com Arena.

Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the "Dick's Sporting Goods Park." I don't think I need to explain. Congratulations go out to the Colorado Rapids on having the most awful stadium name in the country.

Peyton Manning - Super Bowl MVP, Comedy Genius

There is no one else in the entire sports entertainment business that is more marketable than Peyton Manning. He's not really funny, he's not really bland, he is just Peyton Manning, and for anyone who has seen enjoyed any of the NFL's commercials featuring Peyton, I highly recommend that you watch this clip, and if you can, the rest of the Saturday Night Live that he hosted. It was one of the best SNL's of the last five years.

I May Have Spoke Too Soon

A few weeks ago, when I was busy talking about how the Denver sports teams have let me down, I mentioned that "The Avalanche might* miss the playoffs for the first time since they moved to Denver in 1995. I say might with an asterisk, because it's almost guaranteed."

Well, the Avalanche have proved me wrong the last couple of weeks. Paul Stasny went on a twenty game point streak, breaking the record by a rookie set by his father, Peter Stasny, almost two decades ago. This twenty game point streak helped the Avalanche win 9 of their last 11 games, and given them a 9-0-2 record in the previous 11 games. That's 11 straight games where at least one point was won.

The only problem is, Calgary is also winning. It's tough when you have 20 out of 22 possible points, and you really aren't moving up too much. Yes, the Avs have moved up. Before their streak, they were 12 points behind and looking at missing the playoffs. Being only 5 points behind (with one game in hand) is alot better, but you would think if you won 9 out of the last 11, you would gain more than 7 points.

The good thing is, if the Avalanche keep pace with the Flames, and then beat them in the two games they play against each other, the Avs make the playoffs, while the Flames hit the golf course.

It's a little nerve racking to have all this pressure on your team, but at the same time - The Avs have had a guaranteed playoff spot for the past 11 years in the Mile-High City. I've never had to worry about it. The more I think about it, the more exciting it is to know that the season will most likely come down to the final day. There is nothing more exciting than a Calgary vs. Colorado match-up, in Denver, with the winner going to the playoffs, and the loser hitting the beach for the summer.

I can't wait.

The Fairy Tale that was (Very) Short Lived

You can't be considered a Cinderella team for winning one game. You can't be considered a Cinderella team when that win was against this years Duke squad. And you can't be considered a Cinderella team after winning one game against Duke when you are the #11 seed, and historically, the #11 seed wins 32 percent of the time, with a 63-29 record in the first round of the tournament since 1985 (The year the tournament was expanded to 64 teams).

After Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) beat the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of this years NCAA Tournament, analysts were already calling the team "The Next George Mason," and "This Years Cinderella Story." The only problem is, the team is neither, and commentators are just looking to create a storyline, because nearly all of this years games were won by the top seed.

Duke was not a good team this year. For the first time in 220 weeks, the Blue Devils were not ranked in the AP Top 25. The streak, which had been intact since 1996, ended in February as the Devils were on their way to an 8-8 ACC season. That record was their worst conference record since the 1995-96 season. Their overall season ended with a 22-11 record, their first season with more than ten losses since 1995-96. It was also the first time since that 1995-96 season that Duke didn't with either (or both) of the ACC regular season or tournament. It just wasn't Duke's year, and you can't automatically tag VCU as a Cinderella because the team they played has a history of being good.

If the tournement was about teams histories, VCU wouldn't even be in it. The tournament is about today, it's about this season. I commend VCU for their effort, and congratulate them on their win, but as they learned in their second round, it takes more than a mediocre win against a mediocre team to be the Cinderella story.

The Elway Clause

As a Broncos fan, I find it a little upsetting that Jake Plummer refused to agree to a trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, instead opting to retire after a ten year career. Plummer could have been considerate, helped out the Broncos by accepting the trade, and then retired later in the year.

As a Jake Plummer fan, I find it a little upsetting that the Broncos organization, and (most) of their fans have (had) no faith in Jake, and essentially forced him to make one of the harder decisions of his career. In the end though, the organization screwed Jake, and he is screwing them back. I commend him for this decision.

John Elway is like an English Monarch. Officially, he has no real power, but in the eyes of Coloradans, he controls the empire.

No one will ever live up to what he did for the city. Taking the Broncos to 5 Superbowls, leading countless comebacks with countless amazing plays. He has already taken the position of greatest Denver sports personality of all time, and will hold that title forever. That is unfortunate, because although Elway is the greatest Denver has ever seen, his prowess in the city is impossible to live up to. Nothing anyone else does will ever be good enough. That includes Jake Plummer.

Jake's record in Denver: 39-15.
John's record: 148-82-1.

Of course John won more games, because he was given chance after chance, after a bad season he was still around, after Superbowl blowouts he was still around. He compiled his career record, the 148-82-1 just mentioned, for a impressive career win percentage of .643.

Jakes winning percentage in Denver: .722.

But still, Jake was never given a second chance. He took the Broncos to the AFC Championship game, and less than two months later the Broncos drafted one of the best QB's in the draft. He started out last season with a 7-2 record, and yet rumors that he was losing his starting job were constantly flying around. Eventually he did lose that starting job, to a rookie QB, who in my opinion, still needs a few years before he is a a started, at least with a franchise like the Denver Broncos.

Jake was the first QB to stick around for a while after the Elway era. The first to win a playoff game after Elway. Jake was a good quarterback. He put his heart and soul into the city, the team, the organization, and unfortunently, because of the "Elway Clause," he never got anything back. I'm sad to see Jake go, I'm sad to see him go out in this fashion, but it's the right thing to do. After years of giving himself to this team, and to a city who wouldn't support him, he finally did something for himself, and it was the right choice.