Super Monday

So, the Giants won the Super Bowl. But, did you know all of the other interesting and important things that happened this weekend in the world of sports? I didn’t think so. I can’t waste time, cause there’s too much to cover, so let’s get this puppy rollin’.
It’s time for:

The Super Happy Ultra Mega Weekend Review

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII* last night. I would just like to say, “Thank you”, to the Giants. They restored my faith in karma. Last year, it was Payton Manning raising the Lombardi Trophy on Super Sunday, this year it was younger brother Eli. Good for you Eli, maybe you won’t have to play in your brothers shadow as much anymore. Unfortunately, Tom Brady can’t hope for family revenge next season, he's the youngest of four, and his siblings are girls. I was happy to see the Pats dream of a perfect season ruined, and so was Don Schula. Schula and the ’72 Dolphins remain the only undefeated Super Bowl era team. It’s no secret that the former Miami Dolphins wanted to retain their status as the only undefeated team in NFL history. Former Dolphins offensive lineman Bob Kuechenberg, who was passed over for the Pro Football Hall of Fame 24 hours earlier, said, “He'd be OK with that if the Giants could somehow find a way to drop New England from the ranks of the unbeaten”. Bill Belichick proved he was a poor sport by leaving the field before the end of the game, also proving what a big jerk he is.

A little note, earlier in the week, I had said to my best friend of several years that Giants were either the best or the worst team to play the Patriots, having been the last to play them in the regular season. It seemed to me, either the Giants would learn from their lost in the regular season and adjust, or the Patriots formula for beating the Giants would work a second time. I guess I should have put some money on that one.

The Super Bowl wasn’t the only thing that happened in professional football this weekend. The “Kooch” might not have gotten a Hall of fame vote, but Darrell Green did. Green was voted in along side fellow Redskin great Art Monk, joining Fred Dean (49ers), Andre Tippett (Patriots), Gary Zimmerman (Vikings/Broncos), and Emmitt Thomas (Chiefs).

The Redskins head coaching drama could hopefully end this week, but not without one last crule twist. Dan Snyder said, that it would be correct to list Ron Meeks, Jim Fassel and Steve Mariucci as the leading contenders for the position. Patriot’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is no longer in the running for the job, no surprise there. Snyder is said to be interviewing Giants Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Tuesday. It would come as no surprise if Snyder attempts to lure Spagnuolo after winning the Super Bowl, since he’s proven his decision making process is less educated, and more topical. The cruel twist for Redskins fans is that assumed successor to Joe Gibbs, Greg Williams, who was let go by Snyder, is said to be interviewing with archrivals the Dallas Cowboys. It would be a cruel knife in the back of Skins supporters, who would only have their owner to blame.

Two pieces of news from the ACC, North Carolina, currently ranked number four in the nation, beat Florida State in overtime to put their record 21-1 over all, and 6-1 in the ACC. Bad news for the Tar Heels is point guard Ty Lawson had to leave the game with a sprained left ankle, that could be a blow to the Tar Heels shot at a National Title. Other news from the ACC, as Maryland won over Georgia Tech over the weekend 88-86, that puts the Terps tied in fourth with Clemson. The Terps are on a two game winning streak, they could make it three against Boston College on Wednesday.

In the NHL, the Capitals lost Saturday night to the Atlanta Thrashers 2-0, that keeps them in third in the southeast. The Caps are now three points behind the Thrashers, who are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes in first place. The Caps face the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night. The Thrashers held Alex Ovechkin to a scoreless night over the weekend, hopefully he can get back on the score board against the Blue Jackets.

Tiger Woods maintained his top spot on the leaderboard at the Dubai Desert Classic Sunday, to nab his second win of the season. Last week Ian Poulter had been quoted saying that he was the only one that could challenge Tiger on the golf course, he finished 39th. Looks like Poulter might want to hit the driving range for a bit before his next outing. Tiger thought it was rather funny too saying, “"I thought Ian Poulter was No. 2?".

Tiger was not the recipient of any racism over the weekend, however, Formula One star Lewis Hamilton was in Spain. The Spanish are building quite the reputation for their racism. They will be facing strong punishment from the International Automobile Federation for taunts such as, 'negro de mierda' (black shit), and 'puto negro' (fucking black). I think I’ll postpone my vacation to Spain for the time being.

In the Premier League, Liverpool trumped Sunderland 3-0. Wh00t. The win was much needed, and will only continue to exacerbate the problems involving owners Gillette and Hicks. It moves the Reds into fifth place, behind Merseyside rivals Everton. If Rafa and the Reds can keep it up they’ll secure European football for next year. Arsenal went top of the table again as United failed to top Tottenham, who led until a late equalizer from Carlos Tevez. Arsenal are now two points clear of Manchester United and six points clear of Chelsea, who played an exciting nail bitter against Portsmouth, that ended in a 1-1 draw. David James was impressive as Jermain Defoe netted his first goal in a Pompey jersey. Note: David James is 38, good show old man! Finally, on the lighter side, Referee Chris Foy was not amused, as Fulham's mascot Billy was aparenlty "feeling the beat" at half-time. His break-dance routine went a bit long, forcing Referee Foy to drag the mascot off the pitch. Sometimes you just gotta dance, I guess.

Finally, Thank you Almeria! Almeria might have single handedly gifted us with the potential of an exciting end to La Liga. Almeria pulled the big upset by defeating Real Madrid 2-0. Meanwhile, Espanyol topped Getafe 1-0 moving into a third place tie with Villarreal, still eight points behind second place Barcelona. Barca’s late winner against Osasuna pulls them within six points of Real Madrid. It would be fitting if Barca could come back to take the title, since Los Merengues did the same to Barca last season.

Whew! That was a lot. Oh and apparently this Super Tuesday thing has nothing to do with the Super Bowl. Who knew?



*See Patriots, cheaters don’t prosper.