The Voice of Sports

You could never spell elite without Eli, but after two Super Bowl rings and two Super Bowl MVP’s no one will ever question whether Eli Manning is elite or not.  I was never one to say Eli wasn’t elite, but I did predict them to lose this Super Bowl and I was definitely wrong about that.

The game spun on a dime with about 4:00 to play in the fourth quarter.  The Patriots were facing 2^nd & 11 from the Giants 44 leading 17-15.  QB Tom Brady and WR Wes Welker arguably the two best players on the Patriots looked as if they were about to stick the dagger in the Giants, then the unexpected happened.

Brady was trying to throw the ball to about the Giants 20 yard line between the corner and the safety on the deep left part of the field.  Brady probably the most accurate passer in the game today had to throw the ball over Welker’s wrong shoulder because the Giants safety wouldn’t allow the throw to lead Welker up the field.  This caused Welker to have to jump and spin to try and catch the ball and he just wasn’t able to come down with it.

Yes the throw was a little behind him, but it did hit Welker right in the hands and in my opinion because of the way the play developed the throw had to be put where it was. That’s not to mean I am blaming Wes Welker for dropping the ball and losing the game forNew England.  If you run that play 100 times exactly the same way I believe Brady and Welker think they would connect on it at least 90 times.

Any receiver in Football or fielder in Baseball would tell you if the ball was put in a position where they could either get there glove or hands on it then they should catch the ball. I firmly believe that theory so yes Brady could have thrown the ball a little better, and yes Brady and Welker could have been on the same page a little more about where the Giants Safety was going to be, but both players are good enough to expect to make a play just like that on a regular basis. That is why this loss is so gut wrenching for the New England Patriots.

The next play New England was facing 3^rd &11 and Brady threw a pass over the deep middle to Deion Branch that was incomplete forcingNew England to give the ball back to the Giants only up two with 3:46 left to play.

The Giants drive started from their 12 yard line and the first play showed why they would win and why the Patriots would be wondering all offseason what could have been if Brady and Welker connected on that play.

Eli Manning dropped back on 1^st & 10 and threw a Hall of Fame caliber pass to the deep left sideline fitting it perfectly between the Patriots Safety and Corner to WR Marion Manningham.  Manningham equaled Manning’s Hall of Fame throw with a Hall of Fame caliber catch by just barely getting both feet down and controlling the ball while be pushed out of bounds at midfield.  This got the Giants momentum rolling and the Patriots thinking of February 2008 all over again.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw was able to punch in the game winning score from the 6 yard line on second down with 57 seconds left to play.  The Patriots got the ball back for a final shot, but didn’t have enough time with only one timeout and the Giants were able to secure their second Super Bowl Championship in last four years.

You have to love it when a man pours his blood sweat and tears into one franchise and then gets recognized for it.  Cortez Kennedy received that recognition yesterday from the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a six year wait.

Tez dominated offensive lineman and terrified quarterbacks from a position normally filled with run stuffers.  In eleven seasons all with Seattle Tez sacked the quarterback 58 times and was selected to the pro bowl eight times.

The most recognizable accomplishment isn’t a Super Bowl Championship.  It is his Defensive Player of the Year award from 1992 when he played on a 2-14 team.  Tez was so dominate with 14 sacks the league couldn’t refuse him the award.

Congratulations to Cortez his fans and the entire Seattle Seahawks family.  This is a time to celebrate a great career and hope many more Seahawks will join him in the future.

Check out my Super Bowl XLVI recap after a champion has been crowned.

Super Bowl XLVI has numerous storylines.  The rematch, Tom Brady’s legacy, Eli Manning’s legacy, the Patriots bringing the worst statistical defense in the history of the Super Bowl, oh and of course I can’t forget the Giants great pass rush versus arguably the greatest quarterback since Joe Montana.

These headlines are what makes this Super Bowl so captivating.  Across the board the Giants look better in almost every way and their defensive line has become more punishing every week.  All of this is true, but the thing being mentioned the least is the Giants suspect secondary.  The reason is because the Giants have been able to overcome that deficiency most of the time.

The Giants have displayed tremendous team confidence publicly and have played as well as any team against Brady and the Patriots over the years, so they should have confidence heading into Super Bowl XlVI.

But when the glaring weakness of your team is the secondary and your facing a Tom Brady who has quite the axe to grind with your team you might not want to be fueling his fire anymore than you have to.

Bill Belichick is a defensive mastermind and he doesn’t have the most talented defense he’s ever had to say the least, but I believe he will come up with a good enough game plan to keep his offense in the game as long as a few things go the Patriots way when they have the ball. New Englandneeds to be able to run the ball well enough to keep the Giants defense off balance, which will allow their offense to give Tom Brady enough time to outscore Eli Manning and the Giants 38-35 with or without star TE Rob Gronkowski.

Check out my recap of Super Bowl XLVI after a champion has been crowned.

Wow!  Could you ask for a better conference championship weekend from the NFL?  New England barely held on to beatBaltimoreon a shanked 32-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.  Then in overtime the Giants won 20-17 after recovering a fumbled punt by Kyle Williams.

The Ravens were able to hold Tom Brady to a sub-par day statistically, but he sure made the plays he needed to make.  The recognition he showed on 4^th & goal from the half yard line was outstanding.  The Raven linebackers were playing 2 yards back in the end zone so Brady took what they were giving him.  He swan dived over the center and stretched the ball across the goal line to give the Patriots a 23-20 lead they never relinquished.  Brady will be making his 5^th Super Bowl appearance on February 5^th and if he is able to win he will cement himself in the conversation as one of the greatest of all time.

The Giants and 49ers were in a defense struggle and as in most close games turnovers proved to be the difference.  Kyle Williams punt returner forSan Franciscofumbled on a punt return and the Giants recovered just outside the redzone and were able to kick the game winning field goal.

Now we await the rematch.  Brady versus Manning is expected to be a high scoring shootout with all the fireworks we can imagine.  The Giants defense presents all the same problems it presented Tom Brady in 07, an unbelievable pass rush, which will be relentless all game.  Brady will need to take advantage of all his weapons if he hopes to avenge his 17-14 loss to Manning in Super Bowl XLII.

I believe the Patriots offense is more multi-dimensional than the last time these teams met in the Super Bowl, which will prove to be the difference in the game.  Brady will be able to negate the Giants pass rush with their multiple tight end sets and their up tempo style will wear the Giants down.  I’ll take the Patriots 38-35.

Washington Husky fans have been making fun of Duck fans for about the
last 94 Rose Bowls.  Oregon has not won a Rose Bowl since 1917 when
they beat the Pennsylvania Quakers 14-0 in the third Rose Bowl ever
played.  Washington fans, more than any others, have made sure they
didn’t forget it.  Today, though, belongs to the Ducks and their fans.

After an amazing back and forth game Oregon was able to top the
Wisconsin Badgers 45-38 to win the 98th Rose Bowl.  Both teams had
multiple opportunities to take two possession leads in the second
half, but neither was able to swing the momentum to far in their
favor. Nearing the end of the third quarter up 38-35 with the ball
after stopping the Oregon offense on back to back possessions,
Wisconsin looked as if they were going to take control of the game.

Then Ducks linbacker Kiko Alonso made the play that turned the game
around for Oregon.  He bated Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson into
throwing an out route that Alonso knew was coming.  Not only did
Alonso not let Wilson complete the pass he made a diving interception
right in front of Wilson’s intended target.

Oregon’s offense immediately got out of their funk and never looked
back as they went right down the field to score and take a 42-38 lead
with 14:35 left in the fourth.  Oregon and Wisconsin set the record
for most points ever scored in a Rose Bowl eclipsing the 91 Husky
victory by three points, which never would have allowed you to think
that Wisconsin wouldn’t score again, but Oregon’s defense stepped up
in a big way down the stretch.  Wisconsin punted on their next drive
and Oregon marched down the field for a field goal to extend their
lead to 45-38 with about 8 minutes remaining.  The game looked like it
was setting up for a classic finish, but Oregon’s defense made a huge play
recovering a fumble with 4:06 left on a long pass completion by
Wilson.  Oregon was able to secure their Rose Bowl victory by running
most of the clock out and making Wisconsin use all of their timeouts
before giving them ball back with almost no time on the clock.

Voice of Sports

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The Lingerie Football League may be a league that seems soft and all about looks, but when you meet the players and coaches you get a very different impression.  I visited the Kent ShoWare Center at 3 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3^rd to interview coaches and players at the Seattle Mist Media day.  The entire Seattle Mist team, but especially their starting quarterback Angela Rypien (daughter of Redskins Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien) made me believe there won’t be anything the Mist will need to worry about Friday night when they face the (1-0) Las Vegas Sin at 7 p.m. on MTV2.

“We’re not worried about anything.  We’re very confident” said Rypien when the team was asked about the problems Las Vegas will present for them.  And why shouldn’t they be an extremely confident team?  They’re coming off a complete domination of the Green Bay Chill in their first game winning 42-8.

The Mist scored on their first two possessions to jump out to a 14-0 lead. The team all stated they could see Green Bay cringe after that second score they knew the Chill were a little intimidated.

The Mist hopes that becomes the game plan against the Sin as well and to do that they must be able to contain the formidable running attack Las Vegas presents with No. 5 Tracee Thomas and No. 4 Mia Chambers.

Seattle Mist Head Coach Chris Michaelson stated, “Las Vegas will try exposing the middle of our defense, but our defense isn’t Chicago’s and I don’t think they know No. 7 Kam Warner plays middle linebacker for us.”

Las Vegas beat Chicago in their only game of the season 32-20.  Coach Michaelson said “I am very confident in our ability to win if we can stop their running game.”  Both teams need this game.  The season is only four games and with both teams being 1-0 neither can afford a loss if they want to stay atop the conference for playoff seeding.  Friday Night should be an exciting time at the ShoWare Center in Kent and for fans watching on MTV2.  If you’re lucky enough to be at the game or watching it on TV make sure you’re rooting for your home town team cause there isn’t another home game until they meet the Minnesota Valkyrie 7 p.m. Jan. 6 . There next game is 9 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Los Angeles Temptation.

Go Mist!

The Voice of Sports

Sports have always been my passion. From bowling to football, if it’s on TV

I want to watch it or if I can I’ll see it live. I have watched, played and been to many sporting events in my lifetime. My history covering sports includes experience on a leisurely and professional level. Green River Community College has been my place of study for a few years now and I’ve completed my Associate in Arts direct transfer degree. By June 2012 my broadcasting degree will be completed from GRCC as well.

When I started taking broadcasting classes I found myself immediately drawn to the other students who were involved in covering sports. Eventually I was able to become one of the three co-hosts on the one and only sports show “5TH Quarter Sports” which aired on Green River’s FM radio station 89.9. That experience along with the other skills I acquired from my broadcasting classes landed me a six month internship with Sports Radio 950KJR in January 2011. I was a programming intern on the “Elise at Night” show until March and then I moved to the “Dave ‘Softy’ Mahler” show until the completion of my internship in June.

Now my focus will turn to blogging about the Seattle Thunderbirds, local prep sports, college sports, professional sports and any other sporting event that needs a voice. Oct. 18 was the first Thunderbirds game I live blogged for the KentReporter.com and I plan on covering as many of their home games as I can as well as writing my weekly blogs.

Follow me tonight for live coverage of the T-Birds/Giants game starting at 7pm http://www.kentreporter.com/sports/133043043.html