Superbowl

What a tough pill to swallow.  The Superbowl was a great show.  As predicted the under came in, with a lot of room to spare, and the line actually went down to 53 at kickoff.  Unfortunately, the New York Football Giants were crowned champions once again.  Eli Manning led a late 4th quarter drive and ended up scoring with 57 seconds remaining on the clock.  They timed this perfectly, and 57 seconds was just not enough time for Brady & Co. to score. 

Madonna's halftime performance was well-received by the women that I watched the game with, and I honestly did not pay attention to the ads, which were fairly star-studded.  The Giants sacked Brady right at the beginning causing a safety, which is extremely rare, and I am sure hurt the Nevada and offshore sportsbooks, who offer odds in the range of 9 to 1. 

I would have written a lot more if the Patriots won, but I am still feeling kind of sick from the 12 beers and 20 wings I ate last night.  Congrats Giants.

Superbowl...

The Patriots v. Giants Superbowl is just a few days away.  I am extremely excited for the game, and the only concern I have is regarding the health of Rob Gronkowski's ankle.  If that's alright, then I the Giants parade will come to an end. 

Celtics began to pick up some speed, beating the Orlando Magic twice, and sending their season into a tailspin.  Then they were able to win in an upset at home against the Indiana Pacers who are looking strong.  However, #1 pick Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Caveliers were 11 points behind with 4 minutes to go.  The Celtics were not able to score a single point, and Kyrie scored a basket on a botched pick and roll defense play by Avery Bradley with 2.6 seconds to go, and won the game by 1.  The Celtics play Cleveland again tonight, and hopefully are able to enact some revenge.

I have been drinking some great beer lately as well.  Sierra Nevada's new spring seasonal, the Ruthless Rye IPA is a hit.  I love buying the Sierra Nevada 12 packs, and having a nice hoppy beer available all the time for the bargain price of $1.08/beer.  Another great beer I tried this weekend was Stone Brewing's collaboration with Vermont brewpub-turned-cannery The Alchemist and Ninkasi of the Pacific Northwest.  It is called "More Brown than Black IPA" and is filled to the brim with hops, but the dark malts offset this a little bit, really a great beer all around.

I have been dealing with a virus/flu of some sort that's left me quite congested.  I think that I am coming out on the right side and am going to hit the gym tonight.  Cheers!

Superbowl: Brady & Belichick Try for 4

I got my wish last weekend. Tom Brady and the Patriots eeked out a victory in Foxboro against the Baltimore Ravens and will represent the AFC in Superbowl XLVI. (why don't they just use 46???)  The game came down to a last minute drive by Flacco and the Ravens against Edelman & Co.'s porous defense.  Sterling Moore knocked a ball out of Baltimore WR Lee Evans in the end zone, setting the Ravens up for a tying 32 yard FG attempt for Billy Cundiff.  What should have been a chip shot shanked left and Patriots nation erupted.  Although the result was as desired, the performance gave fans a feeling of unease, but all we have is one more game.

In the evening game, the red-hot NY Giants snatched victory and a berth in Indianapolis with an overtime Lawrence Tynes FG.  Eli played well and the Giants D made life miserable for Alex Smith.  2 special teams gaffes by Kyle Williams may have cost the game for the 49ers.

This sets up a rematch of 2007-2008's Superbowl 42, which haunts me to this day.  I remember watching this game in my college dorm, surrounded by a bunch of roomates who happened to be Giants fans.  The celebration for that rediculous play by Eli & Tyree will forever live in infamy.  Now that I live in Connecticut, I am surrounded by Giants fans, which is annoying to say the least.  I just hope that the favored New England Patriots can take care of business and get that ring.

I mentioned New England is favored, and the line opened at NE -3.5, which I hopped on immediately since its over the key number of 3.  I truly think the Pats win by 3, as seen in their last 3 Superbowl victories.  The one they lost also happened to land on the number 3.  This is no big surprise since 3 is the most common result in football, and probably even higher in close fought NFL Championship and Playoff games.  This means its incredibly important to be on the right side of the number.  I will definitely hedge this bet depending how far the line drops come Feb 5th, I will take NE outright or at -2, but I wanted to lock something up with NYG +3.5.  The over/under is 55.5, and I love the under.  Look at all Patriots Superbowls, and that scary Giants pass rush, means that the totals will be closer to NE v. BAL than NE v DEN.  More analysis coming as the game gets closer.

11/6/2011 Giants v Patriots

Yesterday was a pretty intense day of football, Miami stunned the red hot Chiefs and halted their 4 game win streak.  Tim Tebow once again made miracles and defeated the Raiders.  The reigning Super Bowl Champ Packers hold off the Chargers who nearly were able to recover from two pick-6s in the first half.  The Sunday Night game came down to the last play, with Flacco connecting to Torrey Smith for a last second TD and a win for the slumping Ravens. 

2008 Super Bowl catch by Tyree

This brings me to my big game of the week, my New England Patriots against the New York Giants.  In a repeat of the traumatic 2008 Super Bowl, the Patriots were nearly double digit point favorites against NY's hometown team.  Injuries to the Giants top RB and WR, Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks respectively, made for a pretty fortunate matchup against the Patriots who had not lost at home in years and were coming of a heartbreaking loss in Pittsburgh.  I did not think the Pats would cover, but I would have wagered at 4:1 that the Patriots would get a W. 

Unfortunately, that was not to be for my Patriots.  The first half was scoreless, ending with Gostowski missing a makeable field goal.  I can understand missing a 40+ footer, but come on bro!  Both defenses were playing pretty well, but everyone knew there would be some scoring in the second half.  The Pats looked good, until the last drive of the game, where Eli connected with a receiver for an insane pass for a big game keeping their hopes alive.  The Pats were up 3 with a 3rd and goal on the 2 yard line and just needed a stop, but a play action pass for the Giants resulted in a short TD and the ultimate win.  Very dissapointing, although a ton of fun and drama for spectators to enjoy!