Hi everyone, Mike the Dealer here. I was reading the Prophet’s call for a sports writer and figured I’d give it a whirl. Feel free to leave me comments at Mikethedealer@hotmail.com.
This weekend was pretty action packed, it started with the big showdown between Oklahoma and Texas. My reaction to the game was that Bob Stoops should be chewed out for not going for it on 4th and 2 with seven minutes left and his team down three. I mean, he had to have seen the flow of the game, both offenses were unstoppable, both defenses were hapless, and yet he ordered the punt, and instantly the Longhorns drove down the field and scored the backbreaking touchdown to ice it. Truly disgraceful.
The NFL was truly the land of the wacky and wild as we had the Falcons win with no time left on a field goal, followed by the Vikings, and Rams winning in similar fashion.
The two games I was able to watch closely down the end (One of the advantages of being a poker dealer is you get to sit in a room with many TV’s all broadcasting different football games) was the Texans Vs Dolphins and Cards Vs Cowboys. The Texans game was really maddening to me because on all their attempts to score on the final few plays, it was painfully clear to me that a QB draw would work. The Dolphins literally abandoned the center of the line of scrimmage, all Matt Schaub had to do was just take the ball and run up the middle with it and he’d score untouched, yet he sat back in the pocket and threw incomplete pass after incomplete pass. When 4th down came up the Dolphins again lined up, conceding the middle of the field and the QB draw for the win. I was shouting at the TV “Just run it up the middle and you win!” Thankfully, for my blood pressure’s sake, Matt Schaub listened to me and won the game.
The other game was the Cowboys and Cardinals. I really wish that the Cardinals had lost this game over having pulled the jerk move of ‘calling a time out while the field goal is in motion’. I’ve heard both sides of this issue about 1,000 times, but the fact is, it just looks bad, it’s something that turns off casual fans. I say this with no facts to back it up except for the fact that to see a play run to completion and then be told it just doesn’t count for a reason other then a team had committed a penalty. Here, Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt called a time out just as the Cowboys were about to attempt a 52 yard field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. This rather gutless expanding of the ‘icing the kicker’ concept has been put into use now and again by various coaches in the NFL since last year, when Mike Shanahan had started the loathsome practice. This time, thankfully, the tactic backfired, as field goal was blocked and the Cardinals would have won the game had their coach not meddled in the play. Allowed a second chance the Cowboys were able to convert the field goal and send it into overtime.
However this second chance at life proved to be short-lived, as the supposedly unstoppable Cowboys offensive juggernaut went off the field meekly, having lost yardage on their three plays. This allowed the Cardinals special teams, unhindered by their coach, free to block the Cowboys punt and recover it in the end zone for a game winning touchdown. Further good news to all Cowboys haters came when it was stated after the game that Cowboys QB Tony Romo had broken a finger on his throwing hand and may be out for a month.
In other news, the Colts appear to have finally quit sucking, and after stealing two games they really didn’t deserve to win, just went out and crushed the Ravens into a fine ashen powder. The Colts are now 3-2 and if they keep this up, the rest of the league will be cursing the Vikings and Texans for not burying them when they had a chance.
And lastly in the NFL, my Patriots got their heads caved in, this season is pretty depressing without Tom Brady, it’s even more so watching the team just go through the motions and get mauled by the Chargers. I hope there are still seats open on the Titans bandwagon.
Meanwhile in baseball the Phillies have beaten the Dodgers nearly into submission on their way to a 4-1 series win. The biggest moment of the series was when the two benches emptied in game 3 and True Dodger Who Bleeds The Dodger Blue Manny Ramirez had to be held back by various and sundry team-mates during the incident. You’ll look good in the outfield of new Yankee Stadium Manny.
While that was going on, the Boston Red Sox trotted out a nigh useless Josh Beckett to be gutted by the Rays, and then continued to stand by him during the bloodbath. After 4 ineffective innings, the Sox had somehow got themselves to a 6-5 lead when they foolishly allowed Beckett to taint the mound with his foul presence for another inning. He promptly surrendered the lead and allowed the Rays to go up 8-6 before he was finally pulled. I was talking about the game afterwards with a bunch of Red Sox fans who were playing poker, they declared Terry Francona, to be “Too Late Terry” for his refusal to pull Beckett in the 4th…
All this was to be made up for by the new ace on the Sox staff, Jon Lester, who promptly got destroyed by the Rays in game 3...I’m not holding out much hope for the Red Sox now, their pitching just isn’t that good, I’m more worried about the city of Philadelphia. Who now face the very real prospect of losing a World Series to a fly by night nothing of a team like the Rays and having to continue to suffer their two decades and change title drought. It reminds me of the nightmare that was the Indians losing to the Marlins.
I’ll be back later this week with my oh-so-keen insights into the NFL. My sports betting this season hasn’t gone so well, I think a new wing of hotel rooms in the MGM will be named in my honor for helping to fund them so generously.
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Subject: Sports Report 
Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:12 pm
