Hey, it's great to be back talking sports and we've got a lot to catch up on so let's do this!
WHAT A GREAT DAY OF FOOTBALL!
As you might imagine, I was in heaven on Sunday as the favored Green Bay Packers crashed and burned in their home stadium of Lambeau Field as Tom Brady, THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, carved up the packer defense like a turkey on Thanksgiving and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed one spot in the upcoming Super Bowl, which is being played on their home field in two weeks.
Packer head coach Matt LaFleur made TWO very questionable decisions, the first when he didn't protect against the long pass at the end of the first half and Tampa scored with .01 on the clock and the second was with 2:10 remaining in the game when he decided to kick a field goal from the Tampa 8 yard line rather than let future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers try to tie the game with a short pass.
Rodgers did not look very happy on the sidelines when the offense was pulled for the field goal team. Cutting the deficit to 5 points, the packers never saw the ball again and Rodgers was more than a little bitchy when being interviewed after the game.
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The second game was also a lot of fun as the defending champs advanced to their second straight Super Bowl in a shootout with Kansas City winning 38-24 which sets up "the kid" against the GOAT in two weeks and Las Vegas says the Chiefs ARE THREE POINTS BETTER THAN Tampa Bay. WHOYAGOT?
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Unfortunately, sad news also grabbed a headline as the calendar year of death for baseball players (as well as other sports) continued over the weekend as HALL OF FAMER HANK AARON passed away at the age of 87.
Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's home run record without using steroids, will be remembered for his quiet dignity both on & off the field. HAMMERING HANK had a career .305 batting average with 755 homers, 3771 hits, 2297 runs batted in plus he was a 25 time all-star.
Aaron holds career major league records for most runs batted in, extra base hits, total bases and all star appearances plus he hit 30 home runs in 15 different seasons.
Hank, you were nothing but class. Godspeed and R.I.P.
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The deaths are certainly sad but I thought we should honor the recently departed and make up an all-star team to play in the pearly gates league.
MANAGER TOM LASORDA will lead the team but now we need good starting pitching so let's start with five hall of famers in DON SUTTON, WHITEY FORD, BOB GIBSON, TOM SEAVER and PHIL NIEKRO. Of course, we need some good middle relievers so let's use MATT KEOUGH, DON LARSEN, JOHNNY ANTONELLI and BART JOHNSON. And for set-up and closers, how about MIKE McCORMICK, BOB MILLER, RON PERRANOSKI, ED FARMER & LINDY McDANIEL? I think that works pretty well.
The outfield gets a little crowded with HANK AARON, LOU BROCK, AL KALINE, BOB WATSON (scored the one millionth run in MLB history), JIMMY WYNN, JAY JOHNSTONE, CLAUDELL WASHINGTON, JIM BOLGER & CARROLL HARDY (the only man to ever pinch hit for TED WILLIAMS).
The infield starts with DICK ALLEN at first and backed up by JULIO BEQUER and that brings us to a group of infielder to pick from and you can't go wrong. JOE MORGAN starts at second with GLENN BECKERT and TONY TAYLOR behind him.....TONY FERNANDEZ can easily handle shortstop with CHICO FERNANDEZ (no relation) behind him and PHIL LINZ, EDDIE KASKO, DENIS MENKE rotating at the hot corner.
Catching is no problem with ED FITZGERALD & HAL SMITH behind the plate and DON'T EVER try to knock either one of them over!!
I know this team can't wait until opening day. Rest in peace, gentlemen.
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FOOTBALL NEWS....Quarterback MATT STAFFORD and the Detroit Lions have decided to part ways. Matt, it's only 281 miles to Chicago and I'll pick you up at the airport. We have better restaurants and much better shopping but I think he ends up in Indianapolis or New Orleans. At 32 years of age, you know he wants to play for a contender after wasting his career in Detroit.
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Speaking of which, is Detroit the worst sports town in America right now? The Red Wings are the worst team in hockey, the Tigers are equally as bad in baseball, the Pistons are laughable in the NBA and the aforementioned Lions have played one ONE playoff game in 30 years. Simply put, Detroit sucks.
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THE CHICAGO BULLS are playing much better basketball and that's because new coach BILLY DONOVAN is the real deal. He's always been a great teacher and wins every place he goes. It will take a little time until they can compete on a regular basis with the big boys but it'll happen. A perfect example is they take the Lakers down to the wire last week and then get absolutely smoked a few days later against the same team. They'll learn.
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We'll talk about the Cubs & Sox next time. Stay warm.
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