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Pacers Host Bulls at Conseco

The Indiana Pacers, just two short days after losing 102-98 to the Raptors, now turn to defending the home hardwood against the newly revamped Chicago Bulls. Where the Pacers lack in the bench, the Bulls are effective in playing to their strength, which is their reserves. These are two teams, however, who are both going through what you might call a “rebuilding phase”, of which Chicago currently holds the upper hand. Two of the main reasons that the Bulls are more effective are these: 1.) They will benefit from the guys like Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden (which they acquired from a trade with the Cavs). 2.) They also will utilize their ability to keep Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas on the floor for as long as possible. With solid minutes from these guys, look for the Bulls to outlast the Pacers in the long run. With the Pacers giving up 55 points coming off the bench against the Raptors, this game will be a test that the Pacers will most likely fail.

With the final strokes of the Dallas Clark contract still drying, the Colts look to be pretty much done for this off-season. Without a pick in the first round of the draft, the Colts will be pretty much set when it comes to major transactions. The main concern this off-season will be keeping the players they already have, not necessarily acquiring new ones. It will be interesting to see what comes of the draft.

Good News for Colts Fans, Patriots Going Down 

The Patriots were expected on Thursday to tag Randy Moss as their franchise player.  On Friday, he’s now probably going to be one of the most sought after free agents this off-season.  There is still no word yet whether the Patriots are going to reach an agreement with the all-pro wide receiver for this coming season.  Remember that Moss took a cut in pay to come to New England,  and now he’s been passed up on the franchise tag.  Teams had until 4 p.m. Thursday to tag one player as their franchise player for the year.  11 teams did so, but the Patriots were not one of them. 

In another turn of events, Donte Stallworth’s contract was not renewed either, and he will be hitting the free angent market soon.  So, unless the Patriots successfully woo Randy Moss, their receiving corps is going to take a hit and Tom Brady, who was so brilliant this year, is now going to be a not so happy camper.  Let the tears of those pathetic, whiny, entitlement-minded New England fans begin.  This is the beginning of the end.  Do you remember the years of playing second fiddle in the AFC East to teams like the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins?  Well, get ready, because they are here again! 

Look, I don’t like the Patriots, I think Bill Belichick is a cheater, I think that Tom Brady is a sore loser, I think that the team is primed for a downfall.  However, all of that sentiment aside, the Patriots linebacking corps is, what, 50?  Minus Samuel, you don’t have any anchoring point for your secondary, and now that your receivers are dropping like flies, I highly doubt your ability to points on the board like you did last year.  Now, I realize that you still have Tom Brady, and he is a perennial all-pro, and Welker will still be around for him to throw to, so the Patriots aren’t going to go 1-15 anytime soon, but I don’t think that they are going to get very far in the playoffs, if you even make it in.

 Realize something here, I haven’t even mentioned “Spygate“ once yet.  What if the reason that the Patriots are playing the whole Randy Moss deal so close to their chests is because Robert Kraft is worried he’s going to have to throw a bunch of money at more sanctions against the team for having taped more than just opposing teams defensive hand signals?  Just a little speculation on my part, but what if?  Look, you’ve got your hands full enough with keeping your personnel, you just don’t need to spend more time on trying to hush this scandal.  Eventually Goodell, the NFL, and Arlen Specter are going to need a smoking gun, and with the way that Matt Walsh is singing, it’s not going to be him.  So, who?  Pioli?  Patriots President Jonathan Kraft?  I don’t think so.  So who’s next in line?  Who might they be looking to as they are sharpening the axe?  Who’s firing is going to make enough noise to placate the league and the United States Senate?  Thinking ragged hoodies?  Cuz I know I am.

P.S.  Hey, Indiana Hoosiers basketball team…  “If Sampson ain’t coachin’, we ain’t playin’”?  What is that?  Yeah, sure, like you’re going to pass up an opportunity to play basketball in the Big Ten.  Look, I’m no genius, but I hope that Greenspan calls your bluff.  That’s ridiculous and it’s unfair to you, your parents, your fellow students, your school, and to the entire NCAA.  Grow up!  You’ll be back out on the court by next week, without your pathetic coach too.

Article from the Associated Press

Yardbarker

BallHype

Does Bird Need to Go?

The trade deadline passes the Pacers by today and nothing was done. The rumored trade between the Nets and the Pacers involving Vince Carter didn’t happen. The trade involving Mike Miller from Memphis is also not going forward as well. So, the question is, what happened? With so many possibilities and so many ways to improve the team dramatically, not to mention get rid of needless dead weight, why in the world was nothing done?

The Dogg will endeavor to answer this question, and he will start with saying this: Indiana basketball teams, whether it be professional or college level, tend to want to keep basketball “in the family”. Look at the situation at IU, no Kelvin Sampson is not “in the family”, but now that it looks like he’s going to be gone, many people are continually saying “we need and Indiana boy, we need an Indiana boy…” Look, people, no matter how much we want our state to be the best at basketball, and no matter how much we want to keep this “in the family”, we continue to miss the forest due to looking at the proverbial tree.

The “tree” in this case is Larry Bird. Yes the man played high school ball at Springs Valley High, yes he played college ball in Terre Haute at Indiana State, and yes he played professional ball for the Boston Celtics. However, 13 years and 3 championships later, he still does not know how to manage a professional basketball team. Just because he’s from Indiana, please, please do not assume that he knows what he is doing when it comes to management. Look, Donnie Walsh should have never hired him. When Bird coached the Pacers for three years, it was painfully obvious to anyone who was watching that Bird was out of his depth, and that it was Rick Carlisle who was doing the real coaching. Bird needs to come to the realization that while he may have the PR thing down, that has nothing to do with managing a basketball team. Donnie, listen man, I know everybody loves the guy, but you need to let him go and bring in someone who knows what he’s doing!

Also, before I get inundated with a mass emailing about how I hate Bird or something, let me make one thing clear: I admire Bird, always have and always will. I think he’s a man of integrity, and more times than not does what he thinks is right and stands by it. He is good with the media, he expresses himself well, and yes you gotta love an Indiana guy! All of that said, that doesn’t mean he’s the right guy for the job. Simply stated: I like the guy, just not that much.

Links:

Pacers fan Blog

Indy Star Pacers Insider

Pacers Locker Blog

Fan House

Bleacher Report

Fan Nation

To Bill Polian: 

Attaboy on Clark and Lilja - Cut Losses With Booger and Morris 

According to Colts.com, Dallas Clark will once again start in the blue and white this coming year.  Wednesday brought the announcement that the Colts will not only name him their franchise player, but have come to terms with the 4th year tight end.  With 618 yards on 58 passes, Clark showed everyone last year why he was such an integral part of the Colts offense.  With Harrison down last year, he became a steady go-to receiver for Manning during a time when Gonzalez was still getting over his jitters.  Another player assured of receiving a Colts paycheck next year is guard Ryan Lilja.  Lilja will be in his 5th year with the Colts.

More good news as well as the Colts say that Freeney and Harrison will both be ready to go next year.  This will bring relief, especially on defense, where the Colts struggled to get any kind of pass rush on the quarterback all year.  Two players they are still unsure of:  Linebacker Rob Morris and Defensive Lineman Anthony “Booger” McFarland.

One other tidbit of interest is that the city of Indianapolis is going to be putting their name in the hat to host the Super Bowl in 2012.  Mayor Greg Ballard and owner Jim Irsay announced the intention to bid on Tuesday of this week.   That just means more exposure for the city, and a healthy injection into the local economy.  All good news…

The Dogg’s take:

Dallas Clark, undoubtedly the best light tight end in the league.  And he’s back!  This is good news people!  Especially with the emergence of Anthony Gonzalez as a player ready for prime time, the Colts will once again have a threat of four play-making receivers on the field this season.  Trust me people, he’s worth the money that Irsay is going to pay.  Also, the Lilja thing is a great relief as well.  The offensive line needs that kind of solid leadership, especially with Tony Ugoh twitching what seemed like every play last year.  Listen, I understand that it’s hard to stay in stance with Peyton changing the play or whatnot, but that’s why you get paid what you do!  With Freeney back, maybe we’ll see Tom Brady on his back more often, or at the very least in Freeney’s paws instead of Michael Strahan’s.  By the way, Bill, I admire your skill, but seriously:  you need to go ahead and cut your losses with McFarland and probably with Morris too.  I mean McFarland didn’t even start at all last year, and he’s still uncertain going into the beginning of this year.  Also, what exactly did acquiring him accomplish?  Did he really plug the hole he was supposed to when the Colts signed him?  The Jaguars and nearly 400 yards rushing say plainly:  NO.  Time to cut the losses and free up the cap room.  As far as Morris is concerned, he was out most of last year with a serious injury, but I’m inclined to say I’d rather see him on special teams and see more of Freddy Keiaho in the defensive backfield this year.  But, that’s just my vote.

On the Super Bowl, listen, I’m just as happy as everyone else to see the Super Bowl come to Indy, but seriously, can’t we make it mandatory for the city to build more roads first?  I hate rush hour just as much as the next guy, but think about what Super Bowl week with an extra 30,000 - 40,000 people here in town will do to that.  But hey, go Indy, and welcome back Dallas!

Patriots Distance Themselves from Coach 

The AP reported a few hours ago that Bill Belichick finally decided to comment on the accusations levied by former Rams player Willie Gary.  Up to this point, Belichick has refused comment on any of these claims, letting the Patriots PR department release statments on this issue.  Finally, in an article in the Boston Globe, Belichick refuted all claims and stated that he “couldn’t pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup”, Matt Walsh being the former Patriot’s employee claiming to have evidence that he was told by Belichick to tape the Ram’s pre-game run through before the 2002 Super Bowl.  He also claimed to have “never seen another team’s practice film prior to playing that team.”  This all comes after a lengthy investigation into the matter by NFL commisioner Roger Goodell, and now a suit filed in Circuit Court in New Orleans, Louisiana by former Rams players asking for $100 million in damages for the taping of their practice run through before the game.  Belichick apologized and took responsibility for the taping of the New York Jets signals during a game at the beginning of the year, but made sure to make a clear distinction between that and the Rams taping before the Super Bowl.

The Dogg’s take:  As admirable as I’m sure this is, it only does one thing in my mind.  It doesn’t make me feel any better about Belichick, the Patriots organization, and the NFL.  The only thing it does, is make it painfully obvious that the Patriots are trying their best to distance themselves from their coach.  About the only reason that the Pats would do this?  They realize that their coach is going to go down.  And hard.  While the extent of the wrongdoing is still to be discovered, it’s almost laughable  to watch Belichick now try to posture and backpedal, making the best of a bad situation. 

Trust me on this, as more allegations come out, the Patriots will continue to distance themselves as much as possible.  While no one knows for sure whether Robert Kraft has either incidental knowledge of the taping or not is still unclear, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that he is still responsible for his coach and his coach’s actions.  “Evil Billy” needs to watch out for more than fines and penalties, he needs to watch out for his job, because, with pressure from the NFL and from the Senate, and from the courts, don’t be surprised if the next step for the Pats is to cut Belichick off altogether. 

Pacers Season Non-Salvageable

Ok boys and girls!

I’m a Pacers fan.  Really.  I know that many people in Indiana have given up on the Pacers ever since the fiasco that has now become affectionately known as simply “The Brawl“.  Ever since that fateful night at The Palace in Auburn Hills, the Pacers seem to have been on a slide, finishing last year at a 35-47 mark, and now entering the All-Star Break at the lowest point (21-32) since the 91-92 season.  Fans of Pacer basketball are continually asking themselves why they are making the trip to Conseco Fieldhouse outside of visiting the building, a unique example of glass architecture in downtown Indy.  Honestly, I don’t think anyone would argue with me in saying that going to a Pacers game now is what going to a Colts game was 11-12 years ago.  Watching the Pistons game on Wednesday night was a painful experience, watching my team get swept for the first time in that series in nearly a decade.  However, it did make me take stock of where the Pacers are as an organization, and here are some observations:

1.   They need to get healthy.  No, I know it’s obvious, but they really need to get Jermaine O’Neal either healthy or traded, either one would work.  Look, they guy has an ego problem, but he’s still a quality player when he’s healthy.  I’m not going to say that it would hurt us if he was gone either.  If he were, we may see more face time from guys like Ike Diogu, a 6′8″ forward who is the saving grace of a pretty beat up bench.  But, look, even if the Pacers were to miraculously get healthy over the break, there really isn’t much way they could catch the Pistons.  Two things would have to happen:  the Pacers would have to play consistently and win consistently, and the Pistons would have to all of a sudden have all of their starters get injured.  In other words, outside of a miracle, there is not going to be a playoff run for the Pacers.

2.  The trade deadline quickly approaches, and here are the facts:  the Pacers are not going to do much wheeling and dealing.  Even if they wanted to, they are not going to get rid of either Tinsley or O’Neal.  Think about it.  Even if Bird and Walsh decide to go ahead and do a mid-season re-vamp (which would be a horrible idea), they aren’t going to get much for a beat up O’Neal or Tinsley.  It would be damaging to the team and they probably wouldn’t get much more than some first round draft picks.  While that would be encouraging, it would not solve the problems immediately.  It takes a player several years to get integrated into a team’s system and familiar with the coach, if the player doesn’t change teams several times before all is said and done.  So, if draft picks aren’t the answer, what is?  A solid trade could be in the making, even though the New Jersey Nets trade rumor (Vince Carter plus a couple other players for O’Neal) is all but dead.  There are other interested parties, including the Bulls, and possibly the Knicks.  All this will be decided in a week, and it will be interesting to see where the Pacers stand after the dust settles.

Over all, the O’Brien approach seems to be working.  Personnel wise (the December Tinsley incident not withstanding), the Pacers seem to be looking up, and with a more disciplinary-minded coach like Jim O’Brien at the helm, these troubles may be a thing of the past.  As far as actual play on the hardwood goes, however, it’s going to take a few years for the pieces to start falling together.  When May and June roll around, don’t look for the Pacers to be anywhere within a hundred yards of the playoffs.  It’s what you call “re-building”, and Pacers fans, it takes time, and isn’t something we’ve had to experience in a while.  Don’t worry, though, it will happen eventually.

The Dogg

p.s.  By the way, Roger, buddy, you’ve got to stop the madness!  Look, you’re either one of two things:  a).  A complete idiot and one of the biggest liars professional sports has seen in a while (well, at least since Bonds denied being on the juice), or  b).  Your embroiled in one of the biggest sports conspiracies since the Patriots were found with a video camera “planted” on their sidelines.  Considering the unlikeliness of the latter, the former must be true.  C’mon buddy!  Nobody is that much of an idiot that they’re going to believe you, OK?  Your teammates say you did it, your doctor said you were doing it, and your bicep is probably the size of my thigh, OK?  GIVE IT UP!  Stop lying to yourself and the world and move on with your life.  There is still baseball to be played, and if you keep your mouth shut, you may not have to join the Pete Rose club.

Ok,

This is hot off of the press. 4 Hours ago, the AP reported in New Orleans that “a former St. Louis Rams player” has filed a suit against the New England Patriots seeking damages for the alleged taping of Rams practices prior to the 2002 Super Bowl.

The suit is asking for approximately $100 million in damages, and was filed on behalf of former Rams player Willie Gary in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The suit personally names Patriots team owner Robert Kraft, and head coach Bill Belichick.

The Dogg’s take: it may just be the Willie has run out of money and is seeking a quick way to make back some of the money he never made. According to the Rams website, he was a backup and he didn’t even play in the 2002 Super Bowl. Unlike what many people think, most former NFL players are usually bankrupt and high in debt upon retirement. Mr. Gary is probably one of many that have found themselves on the owing end of a botched contract.

While it may not be a valid suit, it sure is interesting to see the amount of heat that is being brought to bear upon the Patriots in recent weeks. After losing perhaps one of the biggest games in NFL history, the Patriots continue to self-destruct. Oh, and to those who may have thought that the Rams taping thing might have just gone away, think again. Senator Specter has even more ammunition now for his already loaded gun.

I guess someone will need to get old “Evil Billy” a guidebook on how to ship something UPS, because I think the NFL may be asking for the trophies and the rings back here in the near future.

You guys hit me up with your thoughts. I’ll be back tomorrow!

The Dogg

p.s.  check out this link to the Cincinnati Enquirer  for more details (The Enquirer)

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Giants 17, Patriots 14

Super Bowl XVII

February 3, 2008 

Last night, everyone in the nation saw an amazing show of heart and athleticism in that stunning upset of “Football’s Greatest Team,” but there was so much more to be seen if you were really watching the game…

Bill Belichick. Ah, but was it that surprising that he just walked off the field with a second to go? He’s been skirting every question, passing up every opportunity to explain his actions, his short answers, his silence on issues that should have some sort of explaination…apparently, after a bit of humility he still thinks he’s above the Little People. Leaving the game early was just another classless act from a talented-but-classless coach. In this link, it’s worth noting the user comments after the article (the article is worth reading, too). See a trend? Ah, Karma, you fickle little monster!

The Catch II. Strahan said it best when he said that play took off a few years of his life. Fans on both side felt the same way. We’re talking about Eli’s jersey grabbed by two Patriot defenders, a loss of balance, he scrambles forward, to his left, back around the mass of linemen, he’s free, rolling out of the pocket he takes a quick glance downfield and tosses up a mini-Hail Mary, Rodney Harrison gets to David Tyree, both at their peak leaps, just a second too late, Harrison throws his arms everywhere, but the ball gets pinned against Tyree’s helmet, they land hard on their backs and Tyree just gained 32 yards, a Giants‘ first down and keeps the New York drive alive! Amazing.

Tom Brady. Did he choke? I don’t think so. I’m not one to stand up for the Patriots, but, come on, to choke means you couldn’t handle the pressure and you simply fall flat on your ass. Tom Brady has never given up and admitted defeat. You literally have to pry victory out of his hands, like the Colts did in the AFC Championship game last year…and exactly what the Giants did to him this year. They stole his heart via 5 sacks, an unoffical 9 knockdowns and countless hurries. You can say that Brady was a little soft after a pretty safe and comfortable season behind that truly great Pats’ O-Line but give credit to those Giants.

I want to know how you all feel about the big win…Our beloved QB’s little bro just won so I’m guessing that the Giants were the favored team in Coltsdom so what are your thoughts? Thoughts on Belichick’s M.O., Brady’s rattled cage, Moss’s non-presence, Eli’s emerging stardom, Giant defensive dominance, Gisele, Tom Petty (hey, I loved it!) or anything else? Let’s hear you!