Worst Statline Ever?

In the Boston Celtics 18th straight loss last night, Brian Scalabrine put it what had to have been one of the most pathetic stat-lines in the history of the NBA.

He started the game, and played 37 minutes....the second most on the entire team.

He was 0-1 from the field, and that attempt happened to have been a 3 pointer. He had one offensive rebound (5 total) and had 5 assists. In 37 minutes.

Did anybody watch this game (I certainly didn't). Did Scalabrine just stand at the top of the key and pass? Did he move at all? You'd think in 37 minutes, the Timberwolves would at least have a defensive lapse that (combined with actual movement from Scalabrine) would result in a shot at a field goal attempt near the basket, no?

This is amazing. Did he even cross half-court?

Can somebody please spike Paul Pierce in the knee so the Celtics don't accidentally finish with the 3rd pick in the draft....PLEASE?

Onto the links:

Cold Hard Football Facts has the keys to Indys Superbowl run.

Pete Manzo over at barstoolsports highlights the toughest formations to compete against.

Somethingawful.com gives us some Superbowl photoshops.

One and Done for Peyton Manning

To all the Colts-haters out there, take solace in knowing one thing. This was a "one and done" situation for the Colts. They won't come close to the Superbowl next year.

John Clayton on ESPN.com has the piece; and it tells quite a story about the Colts salary cap situation heading into this off-season.

The Colts have a dozen unrestricted free agents and only $2.5 million of cap room, but numbers can be deceiving. Manning has a $10 million roster bonus that will be converted into a signing bonus to save cap room. That could save $8 million. The Colts could save a little more by cutting wide receiver Brandon Stokley and defensive tackle Corey Simon. They can restructure some contracts.

Players that are heading into free agency include Cato June, Dominic Rhodes, Nick Harper, Rob Morris, Mike Doss and most important, Dwight Freeney. Now, assuming the Colts don't let Freeney go (They should...he of zero tackles, zero sacks in the Superbowl...but they won't), if they extend him by one year w/ the franchise tag, he eats up 75% of the room that the Colts have available. And this doesn't even take into account the room needed to sign draft picks.

What does this all mean? Well, in short....there are going to be some changes in Indy. Guys will have to restructure, which may happen, but will all of them? Doubtful. So all in all, we're not looking at the next dynasty here folks...we're looking at a one and done.

No wonder the NFL gave the Colts every call possible against the Patriots. They knew this was Manning's only shot.

Superbowl Reaction

Wow.

Does Rex Grossman suck or what??? That's about all I took from the Superbowl last night. The Colts were content to run the football (because Urlacher sucks, and is the most overrated player in the NFL) knowing the entire time that if they stopped the run, they'd let Grossman lose the game for the Bears. And that's exactly what happened.

I will say this: Peyton Manning did NOT deserve the MVP. That's as clear as anything after this game. Joseph Addai / Dominick Rhodes could have been co-MVP's, or even Bob Sanders was more deserving than Manning. But of course, the national media is able to wax poetic about Manning, the "first family of football" and how he only has one fewer MVP than Tom Brady.

yawn. At least it rained all game long....that's all I was rooting for.


Some observations:

- What was with all of the half-and-half jerseys that people had in the crowd yesterday. I mean I understand the geography of these two teams, but were people from Indiana that live closer to Chicago really "torn" as to who they should root for? A good friend of mine from out that way has legitimately been a fan of both teams for years....so I guess those in that area couldn't lose last night?

More examples of how the Midwest is weird.

- Here's ESPNs coverage of the Superbowl.

- CNNSI's coverage of the Superbowl.

- Peter King does it again. In today's MMQB, Peter gives us this gem.

Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis. For all the
reasons listed above, plus this one: Five scoring drives in the first three
decisive quarters, and the ability to neutralize Brian Urlacher for much of the
night (except for a brilliant deflected pass early) by disguising so much of
what he does. Nine years is a long time to wait for a championship, but I have a
feeling we won't have to wait nine more for Manning's second one.

Please stop Peter. You're awful. Jeff Saturday was the offensive player of the week for his job on Urlacher, not Peyton Manning. Come on Peter. Terrible.

Decent week coming up even though football ended last night. National signing day is Wednesday, and college hoops picks up. All is not lost!

Superbowl Breakdown

The Line: Colts -7

Bears win and cover.


I hate this game with a passion. I hate both of these teams. I hate their fans. I hate their coaches. I hate their quarterbacks.

I hate their middle linebackers.

I hate them all.

But the reality is that the Bears aren't going to all pass out on the sidelines like the Patriots did. The Bears aren't stricken with the flue like the Patriots were, and the Colts can't turn up the heat in an outdoor stadium like they did in the dome in the AFC title game.

The Bears can move the ball, and if Grossman has a good start to the game, he'll play consistently well. And I think he does.

27-17 Bears.

The NFL Has to Review Penalties

How does this happen? From profootballtalk.com ( http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm )

In response to an item in our Conference
Championship Ten-Pack regarding a key pass interference call on Patriots
cornerback Ellis Hobbs that allowed the Colts to complete an 18-point comeback
and knot the game at 21, a member of PFT Planet has alerted us to a January 25,
2007 "Q&A" on Jaguars.com in which Vic Ketchman writes that the NFL has acknowledged
that a bad call was made.
Writes Ketchman, in response to a question that
chastised him for suggesting that face-guarding is still
forbidden:
"Face-guarding was discontinued several years ago and I
completely missed it. I talked to Dean Blandino in the league office and
he confirmed what you're saying. Blandino, by the way, was in the replay
booth at the Patriots-Colts game. Ellis Hobbs should not have been flagged
for pass-interference. He didn't make contact with the receiver and in no
way did Hobbs impede Reggie Wayne's ability to catch the pass. Blandino
confirmed that the incorrect call was made. It advanced the ball from the
Patriots' 19-yard line to the one-yard line and was the big play in a touchdown
drive that led to a two-point conversion and a tie game at 21-21. Referee
Bill Carollo made no reference to face-guarding in his explanation, but CBS
analyst Phil Simms did. Apparently, he, too, doesn't know the rule no
longer exists. The next time you hear a TV analyst say, 'he wasn’t playing the
ball,' think of the Hobbs play, then turn down the sound."

How does this happen? I don't think judgement calls should be reviewed in a "was that holding" sort of manner, but if they called "face guarding" and it wasn't face guarding, that SHOULD be reviewable. If there's not even a distinction about face guarding in the rule book, HOW CAN YOU CALL FACE GUARDING.

It blows my mind that this is under the radar in the NFL right now. If this happened to the Colts, Bill Polian would be on the front page of ESPN.com, cbs.sportsline, cnnsi, thatguysports, all of the major sports websites in the country. But because it happened to the Patriots, nobody is going to freak out and nobody is going to say anything.

Face guarding isn't even a rule anymore. Yet it was called in the AFC title game. Unreal.