Sporty Blog - The Sport Blog

The Suns finally showed up mentally and physically.  It was an amazing sight to behold as they actually looked like they wanted to win.

They played with heart and soul and showed great passion and drive.  This is something we have not seen from the Suns players since the double over time game 1 where the Suns lost the game and apparently alot more.

But now that the Suns have dug themselves such a giant hole, can they climb out?  Not likely.  I have read that it has never been done before.   It would be a huge feat to be able to beat the Spurs four times in a row.

So although it was fun to watch the Suns not rollover for a change, don’t count on them making into the next round of the playoffs.

The Suns and Spurs is always a good match up.  During the regular season, the Suns were able to easily handle anything the Spurs threw at them.  But this is the playoffs and the roles have shifted.

Watching the Spurs, I see a team that is completely focused and serious about their mission.  They are intense and look like they mean business.  Popovich has things completely under control and has his team playing at their highest level.

The Suns look shell shocked.  They don’t have their normal composure and they don’t look like they really want to win.  I’m not sure why, but the intensity for the Suns players just isn’t there.  I don’t see the passion and focused intensity that is necessary to beat a top caliber team such as the Spurs.

Shaq, Amare, Nash and the rest of the Suns are out of sync.  They aren’t bringing their A game to say the least.  But the thing that bothers me the most is that the players just don’t seem to have the drive, ambition and desire to win.  I am sure that the blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of coach Mike D’Antoni,  but this will be a foolish cop out.  D’Antoni isn’t the problem as he is the one who has helped get them to this point.

The problem is the players and the effort they are putting forth.   The Phoenix Suns starters need to start playing like men and not like cowards who are afraid to take things all the way.  With the Suns down 0-3 in the series, it is almost impossible for them to advance to the next round.

This will leave things in a most familiar situation, the one where the Suns fall to the Spurs and the Suns go home losers again.

While it is way too early to judge how this “New” Suns team will fare, one thing is for sure. Shaq is a powerful force on the court. Not only that, but off the court, in the locker room, Shaq is a very positive influence on the team.

The change in players brings a more positive attitude overall to the Phoenix squad and this positive tone should help them to win more games as they move forward.Phoenix will need to learn how to gel with Shaq and his unique abilities. They will need to make adjustments as they move forward and learn from games like Detroit.

No matter what happens, Phoenix is now in a better position to move forward in a positive manner and that is the most important thing.

So long Georgia. Thanks for all you did for the Rams organization. The players, coaches, trainers, staff, management and everyone involved with the St. Louis Rams organization will miss you.

Your involvement with the team over the past 29 years has left a giant impact and in a good way. Thanks for everything. You will be missed.

Can Matt Hasselbeck Redeem Himself?

Think back to 2004 when the Seahawks visited the Packers in their last playoff meeting. It was a great game that ended the regular time session in a tie. The result was overtime.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB for Seattle, went out on the field to do the coin toss. Seattle won the toss and Matt’s now infamous words were captured on audio forever. I recall that Matt said “We wan the ball and we’re gonna score”. Moments later, Matt threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Al Harris of the Packers.

Mr. Harris proceeded to run it back for a touchdown thus instantly ending the Seahawks season. Matt had just eaten crow.

Will Matt be able to redeem his past this time? Or will Hall of Famer, Mr. Favre do what he does best at Lambeau field and take it to Seattle one more time?

Stay current at Doc Sports with their up to date NFL Playoff Schedule

The Redskins went to Seattle on a roll. They were the hot team and all of the commentators were drooling over them and going wild over how impressive Todd Collins had been. Stories of how the team had come together after the death of teammate Sean Taylor were told over and over and all players on both teams were wearing his number 21.

The game seemed that it would be won by the Redskins even before it began as the Redskins were hot and they were playing for a higher cause.

That all came to an end on Saturday when the 4 time defending NFC West Champion Seattle Seahawks ended the Redskins fantastic run in 35 to 14 win at Qwest Stadium in Seattle.

Of course the final score doesn’t really represent what type of a game it was. The Seahawks were in complete control almost the entire game. The Seahawks spent the first three quarters painfully building a 13 - 0 lead. The Seattle defense was stout and the Redskins couldn’t find a way to score.

But then came the 4th quarter. In a span of 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the Redskins scored two TD’s to take the lead and leave the Seahawks and their fans scratching their heads and picking their jaws up off of the ground. It looked and felt as though all of those predictions of destiny and fate on the side of the Skins were now coming true.

You could feel the tension in the air as Seahawks return man Nate Burleson misjudged the next kickoff and handed the ball over the the Redskins offense on the Seattle 14 yard line.

But then, the Seattle defense regained it’s composure and held the Redskins to a field goal attempt which they missed. On the ensuing drive, Matt Hasselbeck drove his Hawks down the field and capped off the drive with a 20 yard touchdown pass to D.J. Hackett to give the Seahawks a 5 point lead in the 4th Qtr. Seattle completed the 2 point conversion and now had a 7 point lead.

On the next Redskins possession, QB Todd Collins made a deep throw to Santana Moss but their seemed to be a miscommunication on the play. Santana Moss never saw the ball and Marcus Trufant intercepted it easily and then ran it back for a TD.

At this point the Seahawks pretty much had the game in hand and eventually, Jordan Babineaux intercepted another Todd Collins pass which he returned for a 57 yard TD. And thus, the Redskins run was over.

For up to date NFL Playoff Predictions, head on over to Docs Sports.

Jaguars @ Steelers: I think the Jacksonville Jaguars will win this game. The Jaguars are a team who can match the Steelers in physical strength. The jaguars have a great run defense and a decent pass defense. The Steelers love to pound the ball up the middle in the running game. There is one problem though; they lost Willie Parker for the rest of the season. They now have Najeh Davenport. Parker was a quicker running back. Davenport is a tougher running back. The Jaguars are great at collapsing the middle of the line. The Steelers are not going to be able to run the ball very well. Ben Roethlisberger is a great quarterback, but it will be tough to pass with no running game. Rashean Mathis is also a great corner back. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor are great running backs. The Steelers have a very good run defense so that will be a very good match up. David Garrard has been playing some outstanding football. He has been finding all of his receivers and has great pocket presence. He can also run the ball effectively. This will be a tough match but the Jags should win.

Titans @ Chargers: The Chargers have a good chance of winning this game. The Chargers started the season off slow, but have really found their groove lately. LaDainian Tomlinson has been playing magnificent. He has been running the ball inside and outside. Sometimes he is even used as a quarterback and a receiving threat. Philip Rivers has been throwing the ball well. He is finding the open receivers. Antonio Gates is always a threat and they recently got Chris Chambers to be used as a deep threat. Vincent Jackson is always around the outsides near the first down marker. Their defense is just as solid with Shawne Merriman leading the way. Their defensive line is great with Jamal Williams clogging up holes. The line-backing core is even better with Merriman and Shaun Phillips. Their defensive backs are decent with Quentin Jammer. The Titans have a solid running game with Lendale White and Chris Brown. It is going to be fun to watch them against the Chargers line. Vince Young is questionable. It would be a very big blow to the Titans if Kerry Collins has to start. Roydell Williams is a good wide receiver. He will have to make big plays for the Titans to stay in the game. Their defense is average. Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch are their two big time players. Their secondary is not very good. It will be a close game for a while, but the Chargers should pull ahead in the second half.

Giants @ Buccaneers: I predict that the Buccaneers will win this game. The Giants have had a lot of injuries to their team. Many of their defensive players will be out. The Buccaneers should take advantage of that. Jeff Garcia will be happy to see that a few of their defensive backs are out. It will give him a chance to throw the ball quicker and avoid more sacks. Earnest Graham will be able to run the ball well against the Giants porous defense. The Bucs should have a lot of success on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense is even stronger than their offense. Ronde Barber will be covering Plaxico Burress and will try to eliminate him from the game. Derrick Brooks will bring pressure to Eli Manning. Manning will have to move out of the pocket and make bad throws. That creates a turnover for the Bucs. The Giants will have a hard time on offense. Brandon Jacobs is an outstanding running back. He will have decent production against a solid Bucs defense. Eli Manning will have a hard time getting it to Burress with Ronde Barber in town. Eli will be forced to make bad decisions and will throw some interceptions. The Buccaneers should prevail in this game.

Redskins @ Seahawks: The Seahawks have a good shot at winning this game. The home field advantage is key because it is very hard to play in Seattle. The Seahawks should be great on offense. Matt Hasslebeck has been throwing the ball great. He should be able to find Branch, Hackett, Engram, and Burleson. Shaun Alexander has been injured and not very good this season. The last five weeks though, he has improved. If Alexander can run the ball well it will open up the passing game for the Hawks. Their defense has been spectacular at stopping the run. They are decent at stopping the pass. They have not allowed many points scored. Look for their defense to get pressure on Todd Collins. The Redskins have tons of momentum. They are on a four game win streak. They are going to be playing for Sean Taylor who got shot earlier in the year. Todd Collins stepped in at quarterback when Jason Campbell got injured. He has been great. Their running game is outstanding with Clinton Portis. Their defense has been ferocious. Their secondary is playing great and making big plays. Their front seven are doing their jobs and stopping the run. This will be a very tough game. The Seahawks should win by just a little.

Be sure to check out latest NFL Power Rankings at Doc Sports!

Sports are a great thing. We all love them. We could even say we are “Passionate” about them at times. That is a good thing too! Sports can bring out the best in us. Whether we are playing them or watching them. They arouse emotions and get us involved. They can be great for forging new friendships and can be a wonderful outlet to get away from other parts of life and become involved in your own “Zen”.

But in the middle of all of the sports that surround us from the NFL to the NBA and beyond to all of the other sports, let’s not forget about what has allowed us to be where we are and enjoy the sports the way we do.

Remember that our great country was founded by our forefathers with some pretty amazing concepts. Freedom being one of the most powerful. This freedom refers to sports as well as anything else you feel like doing or saying so long as you are not harming another person.

Unfortunately, our system is nothing like our founders created it to be. It is a shell of the great place that America used to be. We have let our government grow too large and let it invade too many aspects of our lives. We have created too many welfare systems. Too many departments that the Federal Government has no business being involved in. Too much spending on wars. Too much printing money out of thin air to pay for anything and everything that every special interest group desires. Too much chipping away at our freedoms with things like homeland security, the patriot act, spying and wire tapping.

It is time to take America back. Support the cause of downsizing our government by joining the non-partisan organization called Downsize DC. This is a great way to help reduce waste and increase your own personal freedom and the freedom of generations to come.

Thank you.

This weekend the 8 and 4 division leading Seattle Seahawks will face of against the 6 and 6 Arizona Cardinals at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington.

Arizona beat Seattle 23 - 20 in week two when Niel Rackers booted a 43 yard field goal with on second remaining as the Cardinals scored twice in the final five minutes at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Cardinals have won the past two games against the Seahawks and they lead the all time series 9 to 8.

If the Seahawks can win this game it will give them a lock on the division as even if Arizona was to win their next three and Seattle was to lose the next three, the resulting records of 9 and 7 for both teams would give the tiebreaker to Seattle as the Seahawks would have a better divisional record.

If the Cardinals can find a way to pull this win out, it would lift their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 1998 and keep them firmly in the hunt for the divison title.

Are you ready for some football?

The New England Patriots handed the Buffalo Bills an embarrassing loss Sunday night when they thoroughly thrashed them 56 to 10.  This is the type of win (or loss) that is extremely lopsided and shows how far apart these two teams really are.

While watching this game roll on, one has to wonder if any other team will be able to stop New England as they march on undefeated after 10 games.  Randy Moss is showing the same play making ability he showed when he first entered the league.   He is back from his lazy ways and non-trying days and showing that when he actually tries, he can be a great receiver.

The only other receiver in the league that can compare to his abilities seems to be T.O. on the Cowboys.  The Bills were largely ineffective at everything they did, but they were particularly unimpressive against the powerful Patriots offense led by the MVP quarterback Tom Brady.

The Patriots literally looked like men pushing around little boys in what was an abysmal performance by the Buffalo Bills.  It’s not like the Bills didn’t try or anything, because they looked to be doing their best.  They were just completely outmatched in all aspects.