Conference Championship Stuff

Rich Eisen's annual 40-yard run at the end of the Scouting Combine is a classic every year. Kind of sad, but classic. I didn't think it possible for him to look more athletically pathetic. I was wrong. On the Conference Championship pregame show the NFL Network clowns put up a dunk tank. It was all fine until Eisen tried to throw. Hopefully all his NFL friends will be around to teach his kids how to throw a football. Sad. Very sad.

Congratulations to the Walter Payton Man of the Year finalists:
Matt Birk 
Philip Rivers
Charles Tillman

So, they dance again. Patriots-Giants Super Bowl.

The Patriots-Ravens game was terrific. Its a damn shame that a game that terrific is decided by a missed gimme field goal. I guess that no field goal is a gimme in a Conference Championship game but I hate to see a great game decided that way.

Same can be said of the of the Giants-49ers game. It was a tough day for Kyle Williams.

The games were great. I'd just write cleaner endings.

Great play in the endzone by Patriots corner Sterling Moore to knock a likely winning touchdown from Ravens receiver Lee Evans. It went a long way to force the missed field goal.

New England Patriots runningback Benjarvus Green-Ellis ran tough, especially in the first half. His running kept the Ravens defense from concentrating solely on the pass. I loved his acknowledgement of Myra Kraft after his touchdown.

I sure do like Ravens runningback Ray Rice. He and Maurice Jones-Drew prove that backs come in all shapes and sizes. Great football players.

Both Tom Brady and Joe Flacco look like they running in mud. You can easily see why they aren't running often.

Just as I was thinking that this was the best that I've seen Flacco play, he throws the ball right to Brandon Spikes of the wrong team. Fortunately for Flacco, a super interception by Ravens corner Jimmy Smith got the ball right back. Flacco did play very well. He brought his team back and gave them a chance to win or tie.

Two terrific plays by Patriots big man Vince Wilfork ended a Ravens threat with about three minutes to go. The Ravens threatened again but we know how that ended.

Vernon Davis is now a tough football player to stop.

The unsportsmanlike penalty called against Davis after his 73-yard touchdown was ridiculous on the part of the officials. The unsportsmanlike penalty against Davis for jumping on the back of a Giants player was ridiculous on the part of Davis.

I like Giants defensive end Justin Tuck's facemask. It looks medieval.

Giants receiver Victor Cruz impresses me more each time I see him. Its clear that he doesn't care much for contact but he sure gets open and secures the ball.

49ers linebacker Aldon Smith and Giants defensive end Jason-Pierre Paul are two of the best young pass rushers in the league. At times they look like they are impossible to block.

I've seen the Minnesota Vikings defensive backs, especially the safeties, hack up coverages for far too long. Its amazing to watch the 49ers secondary work together. I sure hope that new Vikings defensive coordinator Alan Williams can get his new players on the same page. It'd be nice to see players other Antoine Winfield make plays back there.

Its not just the secondary with the 49ers defense. Although I envy that the most due to the Vikings issues there. The whole defense flies to the ball. Justin Smith and Patrick Willis are stars. Navarro Bowman and Carlos Rogers have joined them. Aldon Smith has star written all over him. This is a team that simply plays fantastic team defense.

If I'm the 49ers, I have to ask, "Where's Michael Crabtree?"

The 49ers need someone other than Vernon Davis to be a threat in the passing game. Crabtree was drafted to be that guy. I wasn't sure if he even played a down in the first half. In the second the 49ers tried to get him the ball but he couldn't get open. Alex Smith had to dump it in the dirt each time.

To quote ESPN's Adam Schefter. "One of the great Championship Sundays. (Thank you for ending the lockout.)"

Early prediction: Patriots take it this time.

Twitter exchange between sportswriting idiot Skip Bayless and Vikings punter Chris Kluwe following the Patriots-Ravens game:
Skip Bayless: Honestly, I felt sorry for Suggs/Ray/EReed. Fought guts out. lost b/c a non player missed an easy kick. WHY I HATE FG KICKING. Ban it!
Chris Kluwe: Hey *******. Let's not forget you haven't done a single athletic thing in your life. Go french kiss a flame thrower.

Interesting development in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching search: Chip Kelly. The University of Oregon coach might be wearing pewter by the time this goes to press. I was moaning about Cal's loss of their defensive line coach. This is a huge blow to the Ducks.