NFL Football Players Play Poker

2006-03-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

Remember that time when Mike Vanderjagt missed that 46-yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending the Indianapolis Colt’s amazing season. I can handle a kicker missing a kick, I mean that situation has to be one of the most stressful in the game, but that kick was horrible, it was probably his worst kick ever.

There is little question that Vanderjagt is one of the best kickers in the game today, but his mouth gets him into too much trouble and he made a lot of enemies. It’s no secret that there was bad blood between Vanderjagt and quarterback Manning. It’s a rare that two teammates in each of their respective positions call each other out. With Vanderjagt and Terrell Owens making their home in Dallas, it will insure that the Cowboys will be the loudest team in the NFL. Is it just me, or do you think Bill Parcells deserves a raise?

The Colts should be happy with Adam Vinatieri. He is a great kicker and is more of a team player. The New England Patriots will miss him a lot over the next season, especially since he joined the Colts.

Like I have said before this off-season has been one of the better ones to watch and it will be interesting to see how teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins make out. I’ll reserve my right to pick the Super Bowl winner until the end of the off-season.

2006-03-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

Remember when I said that Terrell Owens was heading to Dallas, well it looks like I was right. I hope you don’t mind me bragging a little bit, considering my disastrous ’05 playoff picks I think its okay.

This deal is both great and horrible at the same time. Owens is one of the best offensive players in the game and there is little question about his skills. Now I have been thinking to myself whether or not I am being hard on him for his past problems with his former teams and after thinking long and hard about I think it’s fair to say that Owens is a pain in the you know what. That brings to the flaw of the T.O. deal.

There is nothing in the Dallas contract that mentions penalties for temper tantrums and walk outs. I’m not sure what the Cowboys were thinking, they may be asking for trouble. I will say it now. If Terrell Owens pulls his usual stunts with the Cowboys I will not feel sorry for them at all, they knew what they were getting into and did nothing to prevent it.

I have no doubt that there were a lot of teams interested in luring Owens to their respective teams and maybe the lack of behavior penalties in the deal are what separated the Cowboys from the pack.

I’m guessing there will not be any issues with Owens in the upcoming season, especially after his theatrics with the Eagles. The problems will probably start in the following season, once the lessons of this season get a little further away. Have fun Dallas!

2006-03-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Something about the NFL off-season is appealing to me, all the trades, free-agents and of course the prime moment of the NFL Draft. This off-season is going to be an interesting one.

There are superstar players like Terrell Owens and Daunte Culpepper saying they want out of their respective teams. I really don’t blame Culpepper, I mean this guy is one of the league’s best quarterbacks and his team keeps trying to shop him around. T.O. is a different story, is it just me or does he really get on your nerves. Yes, I know you are amazing at your job, but there is no way Terrell Owens is one my NFL team. It is rumored that he will become a Bronco or a Cowboy. He is a good pick if you are putting together an online fantasy team, but that’s about it.

There are a lot teams who want to make the next step from borderline playoff contenders to Super Bowl favorites and this could be the off-season for a transition like that to work. Look at the Washington Redskins, they have just padded their offense with Antwaan Randle El, Christian Fauria and Brandon Lloyd. Not bad if you ask me, they still have Santana Moss and there are a lot rumors saying this general manager is not done yet.

Edgerrin James is leaving his cozy home in Indianapolis to play in the Arizona desert for the Cardinals. Drew Brees will probably venture to the New Orleans Saints and Culpepper could be a Dolphin.

Anyway you look at this NFL off-season will be one of the better ones we have seen in a long time. Judging by the action that has already occurred in the last couple of days we are in for an interesting time.

2006-03-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

I hate watching the Oscars, so I thought I would try something different for this week’s blog. This week I will announce the winners of the 2005 NFL Academy Awards. To be honest the categories and the winners have all been determined by me, so they are not the most accurate awards, but oh well.

The first award is for most disappointing moment in the NFL season. This one was kind of an easy one to pick, it would have to be the Indianapolis Colts loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am a Steelers fan and even I think that it was a disappointing moment for a lot of NFL fans. That being said, it did make the rest of the playoffs a lot more interesting.

My next award is for the surprise team of the year. A lot of people would probably pick the Pittsburgh Steelers, but these guys were considered to be a good team at the beginning of the season. I’m going to go with the Washington Redskins, people thought a little more of them once they got Santana Moss, but they defiantly exceeded expectations.

Now for play of the year, I’m thinking New England Patriot's aging quarterback Doug Flutie’s conversion of a dropped kick. Now I have to admit that I have a bias, I have tried to watch Flutie throughout his time in the NFL and CFL. But come on, that may of been his last game and he did something that had not been done since 1941.

The worst play of the year would again date back to the last Indianapolis playoff game and Mike Vanderjagt’s famous field goal miss. It was such a bad kick on such an important play, I really don’t think there is much other competition for this lovely award.

Last, but not least is this year’s player of the year, are you ready? The winner is Pittsburg Steeler defender Troy Polamalu. It’s been a long time since I have seen a player this exciting to watch on defense. He always seems to make big plays, due mostly to the fact that he seems to be everywhere on the field.

So there you have it, my 2005 NFL Oscars, maybe we can get them televised next year, who knows?

2006-02-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I feel bad for Daunte Culpepper. With all the attention on the Mannings and Roethlisbergers of the league the spotlight has fallen away from Culpepper’s direction.

The NFL headlines were dominated by Culpepper trade rumors this week. I really have to wonder to myself why the Vikings would even think about trading Culpepper, instead they should build a better team around him. There should be little question about whether or not Culpepper can lead a team to a Super Bowl, with a good team around him and an injury free season the Vikings would have just as good of chance as anyone.

Recently the Minnesota ownership have come out and said they are keeping Culpepper and that their '06 campaign will rest on his shoulders. I really hope they mean it, because I would hate to see Culpepper suit up for another team, especially after his history playing for the Vikings.

I know that I am not the first to say it, but I think that Culpepper is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the NFL today.

One of the teams mentioned in conversations about Culpepper trade talks was the Miami Dolphins, now that would make a great fit, especially if Ricky Williams manages to play. I think another great fit would be the Buffalo Bills, that would be a great team. With that being said, I still would love to see Culpepper playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

2006-02-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

I have not talked about this once during my blog, but this week I will write about everyone’s favorite sports topic, drugs.

The MLB is still trying to restore there image after some of the game's marquee players have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The NFL is a very strict league when it comes to doping, just ask Ricky Williams. It is being reported that Williams may have failed another drug test for marijuana.

I’m not sure if I’m the only one who thinks this makes no sense. We should be giving the guy credit for making all those great plays while being under the influence of marijuana.

Testing and punishing for performance enhancing drugs makes sense, but I have not read anything about marijuana being a performance drug.

I can understand the league not wanting one of it’s players smoking marijuana, it looks bad on their image. When the NFL announces to the whole country that Williams was busted for smoking illegal drugs it makes the game look bad. This suspension will hurt Williams career and the reputation of the NFL, all because of something like marijuana.

That being said I can understand why Dolphin fans are upset at Williams. I mean the guys makes millions to play football, you’d think that you stay away from drugs and wait until you retire.

At the end of the day the NFL should happy that their drug scandals usually consist of Ricky Williams and his after work activities and not the puzzles that baseball has to deal with.

If marijuana is a skill enhancing drug than there may be a lot of great football players in the country, some of you may be reading this.

2006-02-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

With the yesterday’s Pro Bowl we can now officially declare this NFL season now in the books. What a season it was, complete with surprise winners and disappointing losers.

There was the story of the Indianapolis Colts, during the regular season many declared the team unbeatable and they were, until they suffered a defeat at the hands of the San Diego Chargers. Still most Colts fans were optimistic about the playoffs and were really not too upset that their team had lost a regular season game. Many including myself were surprised at the Peyton Manning led Colts early exit from the NFL Super Bowl hunt. Many around the league are really questioning Manning’s ability to lead a team through the playoffs.

Another popular news story this year was the infamous and humorous trails of Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles. It started with Owens being upset by the money he was making and this led to Owens staging a strange boycott of the preseason. It eventually ended with Owens making comments on radio about what he thought of his team and his teammates, he claimed that Brett Favre could better lead the Eagles. The Owens’ saga ended with the Eagles suspended for the rest of the season and Owens will eventually find a new home for next season.

This year was not a good year for the Green Bay Packers. This once mighty team was reduced to a whimper, due to injuries and an aging Brett Favre. The jury is still out on whether or not Favre will return for the next season, but it is not looking likely.

There were some teams in the NFC that stood out, like the well-balanced Seattle Seahawks and the amazing defense of the Chicago Bears.

The Pittsburg Steelers were the team that many in the NFL thought highly of at the beginning of the season. But injuries and a losing streak caused many of those people to second guess their team. Pittsburg did manage to make it to the playoffs and more importantly they managed to find their winning ways. Of course we all know how the Steelers’ season ended.

The best way to describe this season was strange. There were the teams that seemed to come out of nowhere and teams that had heavy expectations and failed. As strange as this NFL season was, it was great to watch.

2006-02-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl XL was a fitting game for one of the strangest playoffs I can ever remember. It was a low scoring game, with bad officiating and I’m a Pittsburg fan.

For the majority of the first half there was not really a lot going on as far offense was concerned. There was the Seattle Seahawk touchdown by Darrell Jackson that was over-ruled due to an interference call. I’m sure I was not the only one questioning the call, it should have counted and this would have changed the game.

‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger made a three-yard leap to get the Steelers their first touchdown right before half time. I have seen the play over and over, but I have not seen Roethlisberger get the ball over the line. When you watch the play it does not even look like Roethlisberger thinks he succeed at getting into the end zone.

The second half was a lot better and Pittsburg made some great plays, like Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and his touchdown pass to Hines Ward.

I am a Pittsburg fan and it has been great to see the team go from barely making it to the off-season to wining the Superbowl. Roethlisberger has proven himself to be able to handle playoff pressure, which is something that can’t be said for another young AFC quarterback.

Overall I think that Pittsburg should have won the game, but who knows what would have happened if some of those plays in the first quarter would have went in Seattle’s direction.

The year’s playoffs have been full of surprises and has left many NFL fans scratching their heads wondering why teams like the Colts and the Patriots did not advance very far. The NFL is in a new era complete with this era’s new stars and one of them is Roethlisberger.

This NFL season was a great one to watch, it was full of upset and victories and this year’s Superbowl was a great indicator of it.

2006-01-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

There are rumblings around the NFL that Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packer’s quarterback for the last 15 years may be exiting the game at the age of 36.

I’m not really sure what I think of this news development, I can see both sides of his dilemma. Favre has said that is not sure whether or not he will return and will decide before the 2006 preseason. Favre told Ted Thompson, Green Bay’s general manager that if his delayed decision affected the team than he would step down.

It is very possible with the right Packers team, (mainly one that has better luck with injuries) Favre could lead Green Bay to a competitive year again. On the other hand it is possible that Favre could be past his time and should let the Mannings, Palmers and Roethlisbergers take the spotlight.

As uncertain as the future is for Favre, he said that if was to decide his career path today he opt to watch the games from home. Last season the Packers finished 4 – 12, fired their coach Mike Sherman and watched Favre threw a career-high 29 interceptions in the 2005 campaign. I’m sure that is a big reason why he is thinking of leaving the game.

In every sport there are people like Nolan Ryan who dominated his sport until his mid-forties, on the other hand there was that time Michael Jordan played basketball in Washington and was not the Air Jordan we all knew. Favre has got a hard choice to make over the next couple months.

One thing that Favre should really take into account when making his choice is his legendary legacy in the NFL. If Favre thinks he can come back and lead the Packers the way he used to, than by all means he should return. If Favre is not in the condition to make Green Bay anything less than a contender he should really consider retirement and settle on being regarded as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

In his 15 seasons, Favre has passed for 53,615 yards, 396 touchdowns and 255 interceptions, won two Super Bowls and is a three-time MVP awards.

2006-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was looking forward to watching some close, well fought out football games this weekend. Well I have to say that I was disappointed by the games this weekend, but not by the outcome.

It looks like it will be the Pittsburg Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks venturing to Detroit for the Superbowl in two weeks and I could not think of a better match-up right now. Both of these teams dominated their opponents on the weekend. I have to admit that I fell asleep at the end of the Seattle game, I was getting bored of watching the Panthers play, if that’s what you want to call it. The Pittsburg game was a little better, Denver played one good quarter of football and at time it looked like they were just simply getting beat by a better team.

My picks last week were okay, for some reason I picked Carolina and I could not have been more wrong about that one. I guess that is my flaw with sports betting, I always want to go for the underdog. Now I did pick Pittsburg and I will say it now, the Steelers are going to win the Superbowl.

Both teams will play hard and both teams deserve to be there, but the Pittsburg Steelers seem to be on a rampage and they did beat the Colts. Remember a couple weeks ago when Seattle had a somewhat hard time beating the Washington Redskins.

Anyways, I hope that everyone is enjoying the NFL playoffs this year as much as me, I think that this year could be classified as the year of surprises, but again watch for the Steelers to go all the way.

2006-01-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

I am a person who can admit when they are wrong and this weekend’s playoff games are making me stay true to this viewpoint. For those who read my picks last week I have to say that I’m sorry. I got every single pick wrong, I’m not sure how that happened and hopefully nobody chose to bet using my picks.

The game that stuck out for me was the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburg Steelers game. I think the only people who were picking the Steelers to win before the game were Pittsburgh fans. I am a huge fan of Pittsburg, but I really thought there was little chance of them getting past the Colts on the road.

Looking back on it there were very few moments during the whole game that the Steelers looked even remotely shaky. They came out early and hushed the crowd in Indianapolis. The Colts on the other hand did not come out early, in fact you could say they did not come out at all until the forth quarter. That last quarter was probably one of the best football periods I have seen in awhile.

I’m sure that I was not the only person screaming at my television when I saw Troy Polamalu’s interception on a bad Manning pass. Well I thought it was an interception until the officials overruled the call, the Colts went on the score a touchdown. If the Colts won after that bad call it would have been a huge injustice for any football fan. The referees were making bad calls during the whole game, they might as well should have been in the stands rooting for the Colts drinking beer and eating peanuts.

The Colts were the team that everyone thought would go all the way this year, but unlike most sports a NFL team’s fate is determined by one game and that one game did not work out for the Indianapolis Colts.

Many fans of the Colts are asking themselves whether or not Manning can lead the Colts to a Superbowl, or just have a great regular season.

Well let’s try this again, here are my picks for this week’s games.

Sunday, January 22, 3:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Many around the NFL ruled both of these teams out, these same people were left shocked when the Broncos took out the Patriots and the Steelers eliminated the Colts.

Both of these teams are great teams and they are both on a roll. I’m sure that this will be a close game. The altitude of Mile High Stadium will play a role in the game and the bigger Steeler players may have a hard time in this away game.

This game is hardly an easy one to call, but I’m going to follow my gut and go with the Pittsburg Steelers.

Sunday, January 22, 6:30 p.m.

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks

I hate trying to pick games in this year’s playoffs and this game is one of the reasons for that. Both of these teams deserve to make it to the final game and they both have a good shot at it.

I doubted the Seahawks last week and they went on to beat the Redskins and proved that they could compete in the playoffs and were not just a regular season team. The Panthers made the Bears defense look like a bunch of cubs over the weekend and their own defense held up well.

The key to this game is defense and if the Panther’s defense is as good as has been lately it will likely earn time a trip to the Superbowl.

So I’m saying we will be watching the Pittsburg Steelers and Carolina Panthers play in this year’s Superbowl, but I could be wrong. Who really knows with this year’s playoffs?

2006-01-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I was cheering for the Pittsburg Steelers in Sunday’s wild card match-up, but I really felt bad after Palmer went down after the first Cincinnati drive. You really hate to seem a team do so well and lose their main guy right in the beginning of the game, a playoff game at that.

Even a good effort by backup veteran Jon Kitna was not enough to stop Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

I’m not sure if any of you read my picks for last week, but I managed to pick three of the four winners and was I ever wrong with the Giants game. I still can’t believe that the younger Manning’s offense was completely scoreless.

Now it is time for this week’s picks, by looking at the games I have to say that this week’s crop is much harder to guess at.

Saturday, January 14, 4:30 p.m. ET

Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks

Believe or not this is actually a hard one for me to pick, I really would like to pick the underdog and this year’s would defiantly be the Redskins. I’m going to pick the Washington Redskins here’s why. The Redskins beat the Seahawks in their game this season, it was only by three points, but it was still a win. Over the last five years the Seahawks have not won at home against the Redskins and actually have not won against the team at all, interesting isn’t it. I could be wrong but I am picking the Redskins.

Saturday, January 14, 8:00 p.m. ET

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

I like the Broncos this year, they are a great team all around, but they are playing the Patriots in a playoff game. The Patriot’s still got it and they are very dangerous in the playoffs against any team, no matter how well they have done in the regular season. I am predicting that the Patriots will win this game, despite the fact they will be playing in a very loud Invesco Field.

Sunday, January 15, 1:00 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts

This is the game that I am looking to watching the most, if both teams bring their best effort forward it will probably be one of the better games in the playoffs. There are not a lot of people who would pick the Steelers over the Colts and despite my recent pick of Washington, I am not one of them. Simply put the Steelers are a great team, but the Colts are a much better team.

Sunday, January 15, 4:30 p.m. ET

Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears

The Panthers defense was on in their wild card game against the New York Giants, when they shut down the Eli Manning offense to a nothing score. The Bears on the other hand have one of the best defenses the league has seen in years. If you look at this year’s NFC Pro Bowl team, the defense is all pretty much Chicago players. The Bears will probably come up on top. If the Panthers want to win this game they need to score and score early. I am picking the Chicago Bears to come up on top in this game.

2006-01-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen we are about to embark on the annual ritual of the NFL playoffs and a lot of teams this year are looking sharp, but can they beat Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. There will be four wild card match-ups this week to determine what teams will make their way to the playoffs.

Saturday, January 7, 4:30 p.m. ET

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This match-up is as close as you can get to having to a guaranteed even battle. The last time the two teams met the Bucs came on top with a last minute long touchdown pass and a very controversial two-point conversation. Tampa Bay’s home record is an impressive 6 – 2, but Washington would probably take the prize as this year’s underdog.

NFL Legend’s predicts

Really too close to call, but if I was to guess the Washington Redskins will scrape by with the win, using their underdog mentality.

Sunday, January 7, 8:00 p.m. ET

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

Not to take anything away from the Jacksonville Jaguars and what they have done this year, but they will have a hard battle beating the New England Patriots at home. There is a certain amount respect the Patriots have earned around the league during playoff time over the last few seasons and there is a reason for that.

NFL Legend’s predicts

The fact that the Jaguars are facing a rested Tom Brady and the Patriots at home will be too much for them, although it is playoff time and anything can happen.

Saturday, January 8, 1:00 p.m. ET

Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Giants

Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants have not been known as the most consistent teams in the NFL, but one team will come up on top this weekend. A few weeks ago it would be hard to pick a winner between these two skilled teams. Here’s the deciding factor. The Panther’s have lost two out of their last three games while the home team Giants has won four of their last five.

NFL Legend’s predicts

This could be a close battle, but with their recent record and the fact that are at home will probably give the Giants enough of an edge that will probably be enough to get the win.

Sunday, January 8, 4:30 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

If you have not noticed yet most of the games this weekend are against evenly matched teams. The last game of the weekend featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Cincinnati Bengals is no exception to the trend. One thing to keep in mind is the Bengals game last weekend where they were destroyed by the Kansas City Chiefs, I know they had a lot of their backups playing, but it’s enough to scare you. On the other hand the Steelers have been playing some of their best football lately.

NFL Legend’s predicts

Even with the home field advantage the Bengals will probably not be able to take down the hot Steelers. The Steelers are being picked by many to go far into the playoffs and I don’t think the stop in Cincinnati will slow down their progress.

2005-12-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to have an NFL blog without writing about two things this year, the first being the Indianapolis Colts and the second being Terrell Owens.

I know I’m not the first to tell you that the Colts have lost their first game and on the Terrell Owens' front, well there’s not really much to talk about there.

I really don’t think it’s that bad of a thing that the Colt’s lost. None of the players or coaches on the team would admit it, but it’s probably not that much of a bad thing for them either. Now they can step away from all the comparisons to the 1972 Dolphins and focus on what really matters, winning this year’s Superbowl.

Fans in Indianapolis have probably already gotten over losing to the Chargers, but they probably would have a hard time getting over not winning this year’s playoff prize.

The Colt’s should probably consider resting some of their starters in order to prepare for the upcoming playoffs. I know the game against Seattle is a big game for the team, especially after losing this weekend, but there is a bigger picture to think about this year, why risk injuring one of your important guys?

This year’s playoffs can be summarized into one question. Will anyone be able to stop Manning and the Colts from winning the Superbowl?

2005-12-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of cities that could support and NFL team that don’t have one. Here are some that came to mind for me.

Los Angeles

Okay I know that there is a lot of football happening the California, but the city does have two NBA teams, sorta has two baseball teams as well. It would be interesting to see a team in L.A. again, it would probably do well.

Toronto

I know that Toronto is in another country, but I mean the city has a team in every other pro sport, why not NFL football? There is also the obstacle of there being CFL in Canada, but they are two totally different games and can probably co-exist.

Portland

I think a team in Portland would do well. They really love their sports in this city and I’m sure they love an NFL team there.

Las Vegas

Has anyone one else thought of putting an NFL team in Las Vegas. The NFL would do great in such a busy city.

I’m sure the NFL is not looking into expansion anytime soon, but if they do there are still a lot of untapped NFL markets out there. The NFL is probably the most solid option for an investor looking to start or buy a franchise with profit sharing agreements.

2005-11-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

I’m sure many of you at home watched the big showdown between the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers, after watching this game I’m not really sure if anyone can stop the Colts.

It was a big game for the Steelers in a lot of ways. First of all they were playing the best team this year and possibly may I say the best team since the 72’ Dolphins. It was also the first game that starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played since he has been on the bench for a month with an injury.

I must admit that the Steelers did little on offense and managed to only get seven points in the 26 – 7 victory for the Colts.

The question many people are asking is, will the Colts remain undeafteted and will they rest their starters at certain point to get ready for the playoffs?

I really don’t think they will rest anyone if they still remain undefeated. Indianapolis is heading towards something that very few teams have made their way to, they have a great chance of not losing a single game this season.

Both of these teams will probably make the playoffs and there is a great chance that they will end squaring off against each other, we’ll see if the Steelers make that experience an interesting one for the Colts.

2005-11-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

I know that a lot of people are not interested in football north of the border but I had a chance to check out the Grey Cup game (the CFL championship match) on the weekend.

Let me tell you, it was a great game for someone like myself who knows nothing about the players and the teams involved in the big Canadian game.

The match up was between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes (I’m not sure what an Alouette is). The game went back and forth a lot and both teams were looking like they were going home with the trophy a couple times during the final minutes of the game. The game ended up going to overtime.

The CFL overtime is much like the NCAA where the teams each have a possession and try to get more points than their opponent unitl someone wins. In this game both teams scored a touchdown and kick on their respective OT possessions. The Edmonton Eskimos won the Grey Cup the second time around by shutting down the Montreal offensive.

I try to watch the Grey Cup when it’s on and I would recommend other football fans to do the same. The game is a lot different with the whole three downs compared to our four which creates a lot of long passes. One thing I don’t like about the CFL is the defense, at times it really doesn’t seem like there is a lot of defense during a game.

Now to the NFL, I’m sure everyone will be watching the big game tonight with the Steelers going up against the Colts. If you missed it I’ll do my best to give you an update tomorrow.

2005-11-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

There are rumors going around saying that the NFL will tell the Philadelphia Eagles to either play Terrell Owens, or let him go to another team.

I really can’t see the team having Owens back on the field, even after Donovan McNabb’s season-ending injury. Terrell will find work, there is not really much doubt about that. There are rumors that he’ll end up playing for the Dallas Cowboys.

The move by the NFL to let other teams sign Owens is a very bad idea.

There are all kinds of players in the league unhappy with their current team’s performance, or the paycheck they are getting. All they need to do now is take a fit and do some weird preseason workout routine in their front-yard to get out of their contract.

If this ruling goes through the NFL will be loaded with a lot of strange actions be it's players.

The NFL is walking down a road they don’t want to walk down if they allow T.O. to go to a different team. Professional sports in general could be affected by this upcoming ruling.

Here’s hoping that Terrell Owens enjoys watching the games on television. I would also like to say congrats to the Dallas Cowboys.

2005-11-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

To be honest I’m not really sure if anyone this year can beat the Indianapolis Colts this year. Although as everyone knows in the NFL anything can really happen and this year will be no exception.

There are some other great teams this year, but no team yet has been able to stop the Manning-led- Colts so far this year, boasting the leagues’ best record of 8-0.

The game against the New England Patriots may have been the best example of the future of the game. It was kind of symbolic in a way watching the new dynasty beat the old. Green Bay is not much better shape this year either.

There has been some talk of a Manning vs. Manning Superbowl, that would be a very interesting match-up if it happened and I’m sure the NFL would love to have that game at the end of the playoffs this year. Maybe not as interesting as the Terrell Owens and his relationship with the Eagles, but close.

I think the Colts should be a little worried about the Pittsburg Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger comes back into the lineup from his knee injury. This is another team that could be this eras team, they may not be as good as the Colts, but remember the beautiful thing about the NFL is that it all rides on one game.

Throw in the Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and you are looking at an interesting playoff this season.

I think it’s too early to make your picks, but not too many people would argue with me when I say the Colts are the favorites.

2005-11-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

I’m not sure what I think of Terrell Owens. Without a doubt he is one of the best receivers in the league, but having him on your team might just be one of the worst things you could do as a GM.

During the weekend most of you have heard about Terrell’s candid interview telling an ESPN radio host he was upset the Eagles did nothing to celebrate his 100th touchdown and said the Eagles would be undefeated with Brett Favre steering the team. Of course there’s also the fight with former teammate Hugh Douglas over a comment made in the weight room. Sounds like Terrell Owens had a busy weekend.

I heard today that he put his house up for sale in New Jersey and many are saying that he will be traded or just suspended for the rest of the year.

Imagine being the GM of a struggling team and you get offered a chance to get Terrell Owens from the Eagles for nothing. It would be a hard choice. I mean on one hand you’d have one the best offensive players in the game, but you’d also have a franchise in the hands of someone whose seven-year-old-like behavior is becoming legendary.

I can guarantee that there will be a team that will want to give Owens another chance, I mean on paper you really can’t go wrong. Maybe there should be a straight up trade with the Raiders for Randy Moss, now that would be an interesting trade.

Some may disagree with me, but I think that Philadelphia is doing the best thing by suspending Owens and I would still say that if they suspend him for the whole season.

2005-10-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

As usual Sunday was football and poker day at the house and as usual the guys all came over to loose their chips to me and watch the game.

Usually when it comes to poker I’m a lot of talk, but I actually won last night. There were only six of us last night and it resulted in one of the quicker and exciting games I have ever been in before.

At the start of the match I had three full houses in a row and I got them all before the river card came up. The same guy kept betting against my full houses all three times, I’m not really sure what he was thinking. So after these hands I had no good cards at all for a couple hours, lots of folding and watching the game on television.

The San Francisco 49ers' and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the match we decided to watch. It was interesting watching both teams battle it out with their backup quarterbacks and the game was close. I like the idea of this game because the next couple of games for these quarterbacks could possibly define their role on an NFL team in the future.

The 49ers’ special teams won the game for them at the end off a blocked kick attempt, this led to the great San Francisco field goal to take the win.

While watching this battle from the bench I kept getting horrible hands. I swear I got a 3 and 9 off suited three times in a row. The constant bad hands and the increasing blinds were really hurting my stack of chips. I started to joke with my one buddy at this point that I was going to go all-in no matter what I had on the next hand, both of us thought I was joking at the time.

When I looked at my cards I saw a 6 and 9 suited staring back at me and the bet was checked to me. After allowing the first flop to come for free there were two more spades that came up, matching the ones in my hand. Still I played it cool and checked, my buddy bet me 1,000 chips and he was surprised when I called him. The next card to come up was an ace of spades, it was not hard to see the guy across the tables eyes light up, he bet me another 1,000 chips. This time I went all-in, not knowing if I was bluffing or not he matched me. That’s how the poker game went down last night.

2005-10-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Football Legend Jim Kelly Signs with Online Gaming Company

The popularity of e-gaming (online gaming) has now bled into the NFL Football world. Jim Kelly, Hall of Fame Quarterback of Buffalo Bills, has been announced as the spokesperson for a North American online sportsbook called Sports Interaction. Jim is one of the many celebrities and athletes that have been involved with online gaming. Others include Wayne Gretzky, and Lenny Dykstra (Hollywood Poker).

Sports Interaction is one of the largest and oldest licensed online gaming and entertainment sites in North America. I guess Jim Kelly is going to appear on the Sports Interaction website for marketing. Kelly is well known in the football community as well in Buffalo for his work on and off the gridiron. Jim Kelly’s widely-recognizable image will more than likely attract some players for the gaming site.

The vice president, Anthony Munnelly, even had some great comments about Jim. "After so many years of admiring Jim Kelly, it's an honor to now have him as spokesperson, not only is he one of the best to play the game, he was a first ballot Hall of Famer."

Jim Kelly has a bunch of Super Bowl records. Jim is second for Most Passes Attempted in Super Bowls at 145 over 4 games, and in first for Most Passes Attempted in 1 Super Bowl Game at 58 passes versus the Washington Redskins at Super Bowl XXVI. Kelly is second for both Most Passes Completed at Super Bowls and for a specific Super Bowl game. It was versus Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVIII. Kelly also is the all-time leader in multiple passing categories for the Buffalo Bills.

Go Jim Kelly!

2005-10-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog I just started. I keep reading in the news that everyone is getting into blogs to keep in touch with people and I thought that I would give them a try.

Basically I want to write about my Sunday ritual of playing poker and watching the football game with the guys.

I really don’t have a NFL team I root for, but I do have my favorites like the Bills, Colts. I grew up watching the Bills and they usually are a good underdog to root for. I also root for the Colt’s, I mean come on how can you not like these guys?

As for the poker thing, I have been a poker player for ten years now. I started to get into the game when I was in college and I have kept playing since. I would not say that I am a great player, but I don’t really think I’m that bad either.

Usually the same group of us get together at the house and watch the game between losing money at the table. I have to admit playing with my buddies has probably hurt my poker playing more than anything. After playing with the same guys for so long I can read some of them like a book.

I know he will probably read this, but my buddy Jim is the worst out of the bunch. He only plays when has great cards and will usually raise. Needless to say, Jim does not usually take the prize home and probably hears about from the wife, just joking buddy.

This week we watched the Green Bay Packers loose to the Minnesota Vikings. I’m not really sure what’s going on in Green Bay this year, but I can’t say I see them getting that far this year, again that’s just my opinion.

I had a three of kind, they were 2’s, but I made a dumb bet and went all-in and lost my chips to another three of a kind of Queens.

Anyways if you liked what you read keep coming back, I’m going to try to update this blog on a regular basis.