Happy 62nd Mr. Nolan Ryan. A Hall of Fame pitcher, well deserved at that. And the current President of the Washington Senators take II, aka the Texas Rangers.
Are you ready for some football? Now that I ask, are you confused about some football? I know I am. Well, the majority of you may be looking at the screen a bit cross eyed, wondering what the heck I'm talking about. But there are others who may not be thinking about tomorrow's Super Bowl match up. They may, in fact be thinking about the 'football' that we American's call soccer. Or perhaps, Australian Rules Football. Or maybe rugby. Or futsal. Okay, so I doubt many of you know about futsal.
Football: An open air game, first recorded in 1409 (University of Leipzig opens). Then prohibited by a Scottish statute in 1424 (Battle of Verneuil). The ball itself is first referenced in 1486 (Marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York to end the Wars of the Roses). And the game became an obsession in England circa 1630 (Boston, MA founded). The game's rules became normalized in 1848 (Prince Klemens von Metternich ends his work as Austrian foreign minister). Soccer split off in 1863 (Gettysburg). Then the first true football game took place November 13, 1869 (which makes sense based on a certain uncle's birthday) between Princeton and Rutgers. Finally, the first reference to American football comes from 1881 (Phoenix, AZ incorporated). [Thanks to dictionary.com]
Who will win the Super Bowl? I'll talk about that in a little bit.
The Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets have defeated the No. 6 Wake Forest Fighting Baptist Demon Deacons for their first victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Boston Celtics have now won 10 straight to take a ridiculous 14.5 game lead over the next best Philadelphia 4x19ers. I'm happy for the Celtics. I'd much rather them win than the Lakers, after all.
But wait, you might proclaim, you're a Yankees fan. Yes, I know, I know. Growing up, I was confused. The old man: a Yankees, Giants, Knicks fan. And Islanders. Islanders? Not the Rangers? Okay, fine, still New York. Uncle Mark: Yankees, Giants, Rangers. And Celtics. Wow. That's just wrong. Maternal grandfather: Red Sox, Celtics. And Giants, Rangers. C'mon. Paternal grandfather. Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons. He never lived a day of his life in Detroit, so don't ask me. What does that leave me with? Yankees and Giants. Lean towards the Celtics. And honestly, I have no clue for which hockey team to root. Confused. Flat out.
This week's question involves Joe Torre's book. He wrote it. I haven't read it. I don't know if all the people who are taking snippets from it and reporting on them have read it. So, I can't speak to that which appears in the book. But I can ask the question, why. Why did he write it? Why does anyone write a book? To instruct. To inform. To entertain. So what was his purpose? To help other managers in the future with their professional teams? To entertain readers with the sacrosanct inner workings of a clubhouse? Or did he do this for money that he doesn't really need? I just don't get it.
Well, without further ado, I give to you my final pick in this year's NFL season (no I won't be choosing the Pro Bowl winner).
Pittsburgh v. Arizona @ Tampa
I just saw the headline 'Dynasty versus Doormat'. Appropriate. The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't won a championship since 2006. For the Cardinals it's been a little longer. Like 59 years. And that's when they were in Chicago. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a defensive powerhouse. The Arizona Cardinals are an offensive juggernaut, or at least they have been in the playoffs. The Steelers will attempt to pummel Warner. And Warner has to get rid of the ball to three very good receivers who can beat the Pittsburgh secondary. Tomlin wins games. And Whisenhunt knows how Pittsburgh wins games. Even with all these facts, this game could be a real clunker. It all depends on Arizona's offense. If they come to play, they can stay in the game. If they don't, Pittsburgh will roast them over an open flame. In the end, I must always stick to the fact that the better defensive team will win the championship. TD chooses: Pittsburgh Steelers
There you have it. Happy sporting all until next week.
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