Hockey Horrors!

On a slow sports weekend, the NHL got some prime coverage. It's unfortunate that the coverage was with two unfortunate circumstances that brought severe injury to a player and an official and some players actions that were comical.

Both unfortunate incidents included flying skates slashing the individuals facial or neck areas. Both were gruesome.

It brings a reminder to sports fans how dangerous sports like ice hockey can be.

In the first incident, NHL linesman Pat DaPuzzo took a skate to the jaw leaving him bloody and with a broken jaw. Despite that, DaPuzzzo skated on in an attempt to break up a huge brawl on the fight. So not only are hockey players extremely tough, so are the referees who govern their on-ice actions.

The second incident was pretty widely covered and included Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik being hit in the throat accidentally by his teammate Olli Jokinen's skate after he was spun into the air by an opponent. Thankfully, Zednik had the sense to put pressure to his throat and skate to the bench for further treatment. Zednik appears to be doing well after surgery and should recover eventually, with some reports stating there is a slight possibility he could even return to the ice this afternoon.

Despite these two on-ice incidents, the story coming out of Tampa, Florida involving two Montreal Canadien players is the most intriguing.

Apparently, two Canadiens were at a nightclub and decided to steal a woman's purse, only to claim to police officers and security that it was their girlfriend's purse. When asked her name, they "didn't know." Great answer gentlemen!

Read more about the incident here:

2 Canadiens arrested

Blind MLB Love!

So apparently, this woman used to be married to Mr. Don Mattingly. She was arrested near their home in Evansville, Indiana today after some issues this weekend.

I guess all athletes don't land the Giselle's of the world...

Super Bowl Blah

As usual, the Super Bowl got its normal overhype machine going over the past two weeks. This year, the main storyline was of course the Patriots with a chance at achieving perfection and the Giants looking to steal the title away from them despite being heavy double-digit underdogs.

Much of the hype was the talk about how the high-powered Patriots offense and Giants offense that combined for 70+ points in their regular season meeting would march down the field at the beautiful University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Well, in reality, not so much.

How bad was it? This was the lowest scoring Super Bowl since 1975!!!

So much for the hype.

How bad was it...part 2? The Trent Dilfer-led offense of the Baltimore Ravens (and their stout defense) scored more points by themselves in Super Bowl XXXV (34) than did both teams combined last night (31). The MVP in that Super Bowl game was a LINEBACKER!

Although all the credit should go to the Giants defense for shutting down the vaunted Patriots, it was a pretty boring game to watch with the exception being parts of the 4th quarter.

Here are some other thoughts about the game and events leading up to it:

• Belichick wore a red hoodie instead of his normal blue or gray. So not only did he screw up by not giving Gostkowski a chance to kick a 49-yard field goal, but he also went against his normal blue hooded sweatshirt in an attempt at a fashion statement with the color change.
• While on the Belichick topic, the toughest job of the night had to go to Chris Myers who had to interview the losing coach last night. Interviewing Belichick is never easy in the best of times, nevermind after losing the Super Bowl and a chance at perfection.
• Alicia Keys looked absolutely AMAZING in her pre-game performance. Girl can sing too.
• I thought Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did a decent job, but I had two thoughts about their performance. When Petty first walked on stage and the lights came on, it looked like the NFL had just brought someone back from the dead to perform. Secondly, it was comical to see the cameras pan to the young crowd on the field during a non-chorus portion of each song. The kids were trying to sing the words, but most had no idea what the actual lyrics were.
• Thought it was funny to see one of the field officials in uniform (not an on-field game official, but one of the chain gang) snapping pictures during Jordin Sparks' rendition of the National Anthem.
• Bud Light and Budweiser stole the show for commercials like normal. Of them all though, the Clydesdale training with "Rocky" music in the background had to be the best.
• While on the Bud Light commercials, I can not wait for the new Will Ferrell comedy to come out where he spoofs the ABA...should be GREAT!

Prop Bet Madness!

Ok, so I'm going to take a crack at guessing 25 prop bets and see how it goes for the game today.

Here they are (selections in bold / Winner / Loser):

1. Will coin land on Heads or Tails?
Tails

2. Who wins the coin toss?
Giants

3. First team to score?
Patriots

4. Last team to score?
Giants

5. First score (TD, FG, or Safety)?
FG

6. Highest scoring quarter (both teams combined)?
2nd Quarter

7. First team to punt?
Giants

8. First team with a first down?
Patriots

9. On the first play challenged, what will be the ruling?
Call reversed

10. Over/Under 10 penalties combined in the game?
Over

11. First turnover will be?
Interception

12. Which team gets the first sack?
Patriots

13. Longest FG in game - over/under 43 1/2 yards?
Over

14. Will a special teams or defensive TD be scored?
No

15. Total number of combined first downs in the game over/under 42.5?
Under

16. Which half will have more points scored?
2nd Half

17. Total lost fumbles in the game over/under 1.5?
Over

18. Total interceptions in the game over/under 2.5?
Under

19. Largest lead of the game will be over/under 18?
Over

20. National anthem will be over/under 1 minute and 48 seconds?
Over

21. How many times will Joe Buck mention Peyton Manning's name during the game - over/under 5?
Under

22. Eli Manning's passing yards over/under 230.5?
Under

23. Tom Brady's passing yards over/under 300.5?
Over

24. Who will cover the 11.5 point spread?
Patriots

25. Will the game go over or under 54.5?
Over

A pretty mediocre 13-12...kind of like that game tonight.