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by Daniel Reiter…
The old cliché the best offense is a good defense can be argued up and down the red zone, and putting the stats together to find out how often a top tier defense prevails over a top tier offense would be an exercise in exhaustion. Taking at look at when it matters most will likely tell a similar story and offensive coordinators will likely not embrace the results.
The easiest way to do this is to take a look back at Super Bowl Champions to see how their defense ranks among league leaders compared to their offense. Initially it is pretty easy to see this in effect when considering the results of last season’s Super Bowl where the 7th ranked defense of the Giants prevailed over the league’s top ranked offense and record setting quarterback Tom Brady. It has been drilled into our heads for the past few months so here is a promise that this will be the last you hear of it here.
In the 2005-‘06 season the 4th ranked steel curtain defense of the Pittsburg Steelers was a dominating force that carried them through the playoffs to ultimately take down the Seattle Seahawks, who in their only Super Bowl appearance ever lost 21-10. The Steelers offense was mediocre ranking 16th in the league.
Recently, it has been clear that Patriot teams are not only known for being an offensive marvel but a defensive one as well. Through the 2003-‘04 and 2004-‘05 seasons the Patriots dynasty rode the leagues 7th and 9th ranked defense to Super Bowl victories over the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles. In the 2004-’05 season they did have the all around package with the 7th ranked offense in the league which didn’t hurt their chances of winning at all, but the previous season they finished with an offense ranked 18th worst in the league.
Who could forget the 2002-‘03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their defense lead by Warren Sapp, who has barely been making ripples on defense lately, but was making title waves for the Bucs that year? They came into the Super Bowl against the highly touted and favorite the Oakland Raiders team, led by quarterback Rich Gannon. Gannon had a stellar season to get the Raiders to the big game, but threw a record 5 interceptions against the #1 ranked Bucs defense. The Bucs certainly weren’t relying on their 24th ranked offense to win them games, although their one sure thing was kicker Martin Gramatica “Automatica” who at the time was one of the best kickers in the league
Still not convinced of defensive domination? Look at the 2000-‘01 season where the Baltimore Ravens laid a beating on the N.Y Giants 34-7. Their defense ranked 1st and their offense ranked 16th. The score doesn’t really show the real defensive slaughter by itself until you factor in that the Giants scored their 7 points on special teams. EVERYONE who watched Super Bowl XXXV must remember this touchdown as it was part of 3 touchdowns in 3 plays, a moment in Super Bowl history. All of which were NOT scored by either team’s offense. It all started with Giants’ quarterback Kerry Collins throwing an interception to Duane Starks which was run back 49 yards for a touchdown. On the following kickoff the Giants’ Ron Dixon returned the ball 97 yards for their only touchdown of the game. To prove there was no comeback in the works Ravens’ Jermaine Lewis decided to return the next kickoff 84 yards for another return for a touchdown, making Super Bowl history with back to back returns for TD’s. Kerry Collins also threw 4 interceptions, which at the time was a Super Bowl record that was since surpassed by the aforementioned Rich Gannon.
There are a few exceptions to everything right? The 2006-07 Indianapolis Colts’ defense was ranked 21st while their offense ranked 3rd. They had a fairly easy 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears for the championship. The 2001-02 Patriots also had a terrible defense most of the season that ranked 24th in the league, but came through in the big game against the high powered offense of the St. Louis Rams in a tight 20-17 win. The game was a defensive battle as the two offensive minded teams were fairly shutdown until Tom Brady drove the Patriots close enough to the Rams red zone to convert a game winning field goal on the last play of the game. Another Super Bowl first by the way.
Pending a few exceptions defense has been what matters in the big game. Looking back at the past 15 years to 1993 the winning team’s defense has been ranked in the top 10 of the league 12 out of 15 times, the trend is probably similar if the stat is taken further back, but the bottom line is obvious defense wins games, particularly the one that matters most.
Quick note to all those doubters: Think back to arguably most exciting Super Bowl of all time – Super Bowl XXXIV. The Tennessee Titans lost to the St. Louis Rams 23 – 16 by mere inches. Defense came through in the final play of the game when Rams’ linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans receiver Kevin Dyson one yard short of the goal line preventing the game winning touchdown, pending a 2 point conversion of course. It doesn’t get much closer than that.
We at T.O. Sports like to bring you hot talent from all corners of the globe. This young lady, real name Karolina, comes from the great country, Ukraine. Now I went to Humberside C.I. where, half the school body was Ukrainian, and this brings back fond memories of HOT Ukraine cello playing babes… yes long live the Olga’s and Karolina’s of this beautiful world of ours!
by Navin Vaswani… Matt Garza is a Toronto Blue Jays killer. Last night he, once again, bitch slapped our boys. In four starts against the Jays this year, Garza has allowed a paltry one run in 31 innings.
One run. In 31 innings. That is ridiculous.
Sure, Garza is a good young pitcher, but I. Don’t. Get. It. Why can’t we hit this guy? He has thoroughly dominated the Jays his last three times out, and has got a Scott Downs-like 24 1/3 innings shutout streak going against the local nine.
Really, Garza, what the fuck? Over the course of the season, he’s lost to American League bitches like the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals (twice!), and Cleveland Indians (twice!). But he sure as fuck loves pitching against the Blue Jays.
I don’t know, maybe Garza’s pissed because we tossed him around like a cheap hooker in his Major League debut last year when he was with the Twins, but, well, shit. Enough with the payback, man.
I hate you, Matt Garza.
And poor David Purcey. He was, uh, dynamite last night. It’s a shame he took the complete-game loss. Poor little Purcey.
Check out Navin’s blog Sports and the City
Some of these predictions are based on preseason performances, some are based on last season’s performances, some are based on the fact that I want JP Losman to mow my lawn without his shirt on (if I had a lawn) and some are based on my severe dislike of Brett Favre. His last name should be pronounced Favray!)
AFC Champions:
East: Patriots*
North: Browns**
South: Colts***
West: Broncos****
*Toronto Bills if Brady gets injured mid-season and Cassel has to step in.
**This is their year. Anderson will not falter, he knows that if he screws up Brady Quinn is ready to take the snaps and all the women of Cleveland with him.
***Right now Archie loves Eli more than Peyton. Peyton will call enough audibles to regain Archie’s love and ensure they take the AFC South.
****Cutler + Champ + Boss = PLAYOFFS true story.
NFC Champions:
East: Cowboys*
North: Packers**
South: Saints***
West: Cardinals****
*Giants if Eli plays the way he played in last year’s playoffs OR if Jessica Simpson wears that pink Romo jersey OR if T.O. cries.
**I love A-Rodge. They’re going to win the NFC North just to spite Brett Favray.
***There is no competition in the NFC South. With the addition of J-Shockz and Randall Gay the team gets stronger aaaaand you saw that crazy shit Reggie did (jumping over a Texan), Deuce is healthy, Brees is breezy…I could go on. Don’t even question this one.
****Just kidding. It’s gonna be Seattle, yet again. I’m just soooo over Matt Hasselbitch.
QB’s to watch this year, potential Favre replacements after the old man goes down with an injury in game 4 against Arizona:
Tarvaris Jackson – I like this guy.
JP Losman – I like this guy more. Although I am not digging the woodsman beard he’s rocking in camp BUT he’s been pretty cool about being benched in favor Tredwards who by the way, looks like an asshole.
Chad Pennington – Chennington is gonna play his heart because he a)wants to impress Parcells and b) as an “eff you” to Mangini.
Jay Cutler- Play action Jay.
Jason Campbell–Born Dec 31st, 1981 just like me! He wins at life! Yahtzee!
QB who should be Obama’s running mate: Donavan McNabb – He’s wicked smart.
Team that will surprisingly not suck this year: Oakland Raiders – Jamarcus + McFadden = AWESOME (sometimes Russell looks he just ate a bug but he’s got the tools and the talent).
Team that will surprisingly suck this year: Cincinnati Bengals – For the past few years the Bengals have been hyped for absolutely no reason. Carson Palmer is okay. Chad Johnson is okay. TJ Housyourmomma is okay. None of them are clutch like my boy Derek Jeter who does not play in the NFL but could probably help the Bengals.
Team that is in desperate need of a makeover: Chicago Bears – Kyle Orton and his neckbeard will not save the Bears this season. Sorry Wilbon, but you’re going to have to cheer for your boy McNabb and the Eagles instead.
Coach of the Year: Mike Tomlin – This guy looks like Shaft and the Steelers did pretty well under him last year, expect a repeat.
Super Bowl 43: Broncos 23, Saints 17
OR
Saints 35, Patriots 17 (only if Brady/Moss both get injured if not score will be Pats 56, Saints 35)
My new favorite teams:
Toronto Bills (finally a Toronto sports team I can like!)
The Favre-less Packers (I will personally lead the parade when the Packers take the NFC North)
ILLadelphia Eagles (Obama/McNabb ‘08)
Teams I still have faith in:
New England Patriots (The Tom and Randy Show)
New York Giants (you never know…)
New Orleans Saints (In Payton We Trust)
by Steve Linkert…
Sing it with me. Where, oh, where, did my, Matt Sundin go? Come, on. You know how it goes. Sing it with me!
This is almost as bad as the whole Brett Favre soap opera thingy was, minus all the media coverage, and of course, all the people who care, but nevertheless, Matt Sundin does have a huge milky white smile on his face, so I guess that’s a good thing for him and for the game of stick-puck.
Personally, I think the commissioner of the league Gary Bettman and Matt Sundin are in cahoots right now. Think about it, if the whole Matt Sundin thingy isn’t going on right now, not even a blind man would be tuning into watch stick-puck, considering the NFL season is about to start, the MLB baseball playoffs are just around the corner and everyone who doesn’t watch baseball or football is at home watching paint dry in their basements instead. So, maybe, just maybe, Gary bettman is paying Matt Sundin not to sign a contract until the very last second before the entire NHL folds due to low ratings. That’s my guess.
But back to the matter at hand, Matt Sundin is smiling. Look at his smile. That smile looks like a smile with a huge contract attached to it, doesn’t it? I mean, If I were about to sign a 2-year, $15 to $20 million dollar contract to play stick-puck, I know for a fact that I would have a huge milky white smile on my face as well. Matter of face, if I were about to sign any kind of stick-puck contract that allowed me to play in the NHL, I would first contact my dentist and have him clean my teeth before coming anywhere near a contract that would make me smile like that. I willing to bet, Matt Sundin went to his dentist before this picture had been taken. I wonder what dentist he goes to in Toronto.
It’s funny to me, though, that Matt Sundin hasn’t made up his mind yet on where he wants to play next year. Personally, it’s a no-brainer. It’s actually one of the easiest decision/question that can surround Sundin in this late stage in his career. If I had to choose between: Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, British Columbia (I mean Vancouver), or the New York Rangers, my signature, hands down, belongs to the commissioner of the league, signing my retirement papers. Here’s why?
Who wants to play in Philadelphia anyway? Philadelphia hasn’t won a championship in any sport, including stick-puck for the better part of my entire life. Matter of face, the only thing I’ve seen a team in Philadelphia host above their heads, is a case of 24 Coors Lights’ after a long season, trying to drown their sorrows away. Plus, who wants to play wearing orange, white and black anyway? Who are they the Baltimore Orioles?
Now, Toronto, they have the best argument, considering Matt Sundin played his entire careers as a Toronto Maple Leaf, but when it comes down to it, Sundin doesn’t want to play on the first line with a bunch of third line plugs again – third line plugs just doesn’t equal Stanley Cup.
I’m trying desperately, right now, as I’m writing this to come up with just one tiny reason why Sundin should finish his career as a Leaf, but for some reason, I can’t seem to think of any reasons right off the top of my head. One second, I think I got one. Nope, I don’t think that would work. Wait, I think I got one. Nope, that’s stupid. I don’t think that Sundin would appreciate cutting the pizza in the Little Caesar’s cafeteria box during the Leafs’ home games. In a nut shell, the Leafs have no chance whatsoever of re-signing Sundin, unless they find him two wingers to play with on the first line, a new goalie, four new defensemen, a new coach, a new general manager, a new agent, a new dog and a new suit jacket. Look at the one he has on.
Montreal? Do I even need to go through this?
Vancouver? Who wants to fly Vancouver’s demanding schedule at 65-years-old anyway?
I guess this leaves us with the New York Rangers. Matt Sundin can look good in the familiar blue and white, tossing in a little red on the side, I think. Why can’t he? He can make it work? Not only will the colours look good on Sundin, but the city of New York is also a lot like Toronto, minus the fan support, the extraordinary buildings, the Yankees, the fan support and Matt Sundin’s favorite dentist, of course. But it does have the one thing stick-puck needs to function properly, it has snow. That’s a good thing, right? Stick-puck is played in the winter, so snow is a good thing to have if you play for a professional hockey team (I use the term professional very loosely.). Maybe the New York Rangers should put something along those lines in Matt Sundin’s contract. His contract would read: Matt, guess what?
Sundin will ponder what the answer is as he continues reading through the contract. Then he will read: Well, Matt Sundin, we have snow in New York City very similar to Toronto, and where there is snow, there is hockey. Am I right, or am I right?
I’m willing to bet my entire salary, Sundin instantly flips to the back page and signs his name, making him a New York Ranger on the little known fact that there is also snow in New York City. The blue, white and little bit of red mashed into their uniforms is probably the best fit for Matt Sundin, considering I have heard that the city of New York has the best dentists a huge contract can buy. Don’t quote me on that, though.
In my opinion, the game of stick-puck doesn’t interest me as much as say: football, baseball, basketball, listening to my Grandma speak about the good old days, but seeing someone finally smile due to the fact something that has something to do with stick-puck made them, it kind of puts a smile on my face as well. I’m not saying that I’m going to tune in and watch how the Matt Sundin sitcom plays out, but hopefully when this is all said and done, he makes the proper decision, concerning his own needs, and not just the needs of the Toronto Maple Leaf fans.
by Shane House… Carey Price vs. Justin Pogge - who is the better goalie? Who is more of a complete package? And who will have more success in the NHL? That is the question at hand, and I bet a lot of people are saying “what a retarded question,” but hear me out.
Of course people will say Carey Price because he has had more time to establish himself in the NHL, and in all fairness he is in the lead for who is better, but don’t count Pogge out.
Pogge played admirably last season in the minors and if he continues this year will warrant a call-up to play to the big club. He is big, has a quick glove and moves very well in the crease, just like Carey Price.
But unlike Carey Price, Justin Pogge has no NHL experience under his belt yet and still has a lot of work to do before he gets some.
Carey Price on the other hand, has already gotten a big taste of what the NHL is like, and in a lot of games last season, has shown he can play at an all-star level.
So that means Carey Price has won right?
Wrong.
Even though Carey Price has shown he can be a great goaltender, Justin Pogge still hasn’t had a chance to showcase his skills yet. He needs a little more time to develop before he can have his chance at a permanent position in the big show, and in all fairness, so does Price.
Price hasn’t hit his peak yet, it’s scary to think he plays this well before he has even hit his prime. Yet again, he showed chinks in his armor in the playoffs, which tells me he needs a little more experience before he hits that next level of play.
So, after all this, who is the better goalie?
The answer is Price. He is already in the NHL playing at a high level, and he is not even legally able to drink in the U.S. yet. That is very impressive for a goalie to say the least.
But remember, this is as of right now. Justin Pogge is still a fine prospect and I am certain that one day, when he reaches his potential, he will be the starter for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and two-three years from now, this topic will be a much more intense battle of words between the Les Canadiens of Montreal, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
by Brady Rynyk… It seems like forever that the United States has been touted as the land of endless opportunity. It is definitely the most recognized capitalist society in the world and a nation that prides itself in the notion that anyone with talent and drive can taste the fruits of financial success. It is a country where sports organizations and their athletes have truly seen the better side of commercialism with grossly inflated contracts, extravagant signing bonuses, overblown endorsement deals and pampered treatment including travel by private jet and accommodations in luxurious five-star hotels being the norm. And if financial prosperity was not enough, these larger than life personalities are treated like mortal gods, socially elevated above the rest of society for their ability to dunk a basketball. As a result, these superstars are at times also elevated above the law – just ask Gilbert Arenas, Ron Artest, Allen Iverson, or Chris Webber - who has probably spent more time in a courtroom than in his own actual bathroom (with charges including: second-degree assault, resisting arrest, criminal contempt, multiple counts of possession of marijuana, and driving under the influence), without so much as ever seeing the inside of a jail cell. There is no question that athletes receive special treatment and after making it to the NBA are introduced into a life of privilege, deep pockets, and celebrity status. So why is it that recently, NBA players are leaving the cushy comforts of the NBA and life in the USA for the greener pastures of Europe? And better still, why are so many more players entertaining the thought of making the move across the pond?
On July 17th of this year, after initially signing his letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Arizona under the tutelage of Lute Olson, top ranked American high school prospect, Brandon Jennings, weighed his options and elected to bypass what was considered a mandatory year of collegate play before entering the NBA draft. Under current NBA regulations, athletes must be nineteen before they are eligible to enter the league - a new rule which as a result, until now, gave high school players no alternatives to NCAA without grossly effecting their potential draft status. With a decision that stunned the sports world, Jennings signed a professional contract in the Euroleague with Virtus Roma and opened the flood gates for a slew of pro players to jump ship from the NBA.
In the month following, 10 NBA players (Hornets’ Jannero Pargo, The Magic’s Carlos Arroyo, Bobcats’ Earl Boykins, Hawks’ Josh Childress, Nets’ Nenad Krstic and Bostjan Nachbar, Grizzlies’ Juan Carlos Navarro, along with Raptors’ Primoz Brezec, Jorge Garbajosa and Carlos Delfino ), and one ex-NBA superstar (Sean Kemp) have since made the jump overseas to test the waters in Europe. While none of the “defecting” athletes are franchise players, the incentives of playing overseas has many of the league’s elite talent strongly considering the possibility of a professional career outside the NBA.
Although the NBA has widely been recognized as the pinnacle of professional basketball, poor international finishes from American Dream Teams have definitely changed the image of the Euroleague. Even though the NBA is still coveted as the cream of the crop of talent, the barriers are slowly being broken down, especially considering many of the prominent, yet unexpected, faces of the league today are born outside of the USA - including former league MVPs Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, 2008’s EA sports coverboy, Tony Parker and teammate Manu Ginobili, Yao Ming, Andrei Kirilenko, Pau Gasol, along with 2005 and 2006 first overall draft picks, Andrew Bogut an Andrea Bargnani, amongst countless other role players around the league. It now appears that the league’s marketing strategy that strongly pushed basketball as an international game by the commissioner, may have worked a little too well and finally caught up to kick him in the teeth. The sport of basketball has officially become a global game and the talent market is no longer restricted to American soil. Unlike the MLB and NHL, who have long since been dipping into the international waters with their scouting systems, the NBA’s main source of recruitment has only been the NCAA. It now seems that David Stern, along with his associates, have bought into their own hype for a little too long, and without actually developing any of the home grown talent. Although the level of athletism in the league cannot be brought into question, it can be seen that the standard of play in the NBA has slowly been down-graded to a series of one-on-one match-ups that at times can resemble a pick-up game. In retrospect, the rest of the world has prospered with its talent development and fundamental gameplay. Recent defector, Argentinean Olympic star, and former Toronto Raptor, Carlos Delfino, has said, “I think, as a basketball level, there is not a great difference between Euroleague and the NBA. These Olympics are showing that.”
It is undeniable that one of the main attractions luring these ballers to Europe are the huge perks that the NBA does not offer. At present, the NBA operates under a capped system - a protection plan against skyrocketing salaries that US owners are not likely going to abandon, but a practice so completely foreign to european sports franchises. In addition to the team cap, the NBA offers a maximum salary to its franchise player of $20 million (which most teams cannot afford), where, in contrast, there is no ceiling to individual player contracts overseas. Apart from raised contracts that pay out in Euros over the lesser valued US dollar, other significant differences in leagues that favour the players include: the shorter 65 game season, the relatively lavish paid player accomodations and company car in their host city, no agent fees on contracts, and possibly the most notible distinction – NO TAXES.
In an interview with the Associated Press, the president of league and basketball operations, Joel Litvin, downplayed any concern with players fleeing the NBA for alternative professional endeavours stating, “we see this as a positive indication of how popular the sport of basketball is on a global basis.” This sentiment might very well change in a couple years when Lebron James has the option to opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers, and several high profile players become unrestricted free agents. It has already been reported that Josh Childress’ new team Greek Olympiacos has already offered King James $50 million to play one season in the Euroleague – an offer that sources very close to James say he would certainly consider and adding that James would welcome the opportunity to play overseas for a couple years in order to popularize the game and expand his own global brand. While speaking with reporters earlier this week in Beijing, Redeem Team member Kobe Bryant stated with great certainty on the issue, “Do you know any reasonable person that would turn down 50 [million dollars]?” Bryant later added if a Russian club team were to offer him $40 million a season, “it would be hard to turn down.”
Despite league personnel claiming not to be threatened by the recent disbursement of players across Europe, the league will certainly begin to worry if they start losing all of their elite players. To get a better look at the barrel of the gun the NBA is staring down, one has to look no further then this year’s US Olympic team which had a roster of 16 players. Ironically enough, there are also 16 elite Euroleague teams that could easily afford to sign at least one big name player from the NBA. The loss of 16 players may not seem like a drastic loss, but it is certainly put into perspective when considering the entire All-Star roster of the NBA is only 32 players deep. Considering top caliber NBA athletes looking at overseas play as a viable option, the recent emigration is nothing to shake off. Especially when players like Dwayne Wade have gone on record to say with an offer of even $30 million, “I’ll have to see you guys [the NBA] later.” Taking that into consideration, to have a couple NBA stars (like Bryant, James, Bosh, or Wade) stray abroad might be something the league would struggle to bounce back from, but to lose half the dominant faces of league would be something the NBA would not be able to recover from.
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