Congratulations to Warren Central for reaching the finals of the Marion County Tournament. Coach Greg Grahams Warrior’s team fell short in the final game against Park Tudor 65-51, but there is still the rest of the season and the state finals to go. Warren is 9-5 on the season for a very respectable 63 percentage and are ranked #15 in the state and 266th nationally. Go Get ‘Em Warriors!
Andrew Luck has been named to the Pro Bowl roster, joining Robert Mathis as Colts representatives in the game. While it’s certainly an honor, the Pro Bowl itself has become something of a dinosaur. It’s really just a chance for a nice vacation in Hawaii for the selected players and their families and the media. It’s also a chance for owners and GMs to meet and talk about the season just past and start making tentative plans for the upcoming season — including the college draft. As for the players, they get to socialize with players from other teams, play a little golf and be wined and dined in style. As far as the game itself is concerned, no player wants to chance a career-threatening injury in the contest so they only play at half speed. They are trying something new this year. Instead of the AFC All Stars meeting the NFC All Stars, the teams will consist of players from each division playing with and against each other. So it is entirely possible that Andrew Luck and Robert Mathis will be playing on opposing teams. Players involved in the Super Bowl cannot play in the Pro Bowl game, obviously. Also players who have injuries can’t play. There have been several attempts to spark waning fan interest in the Pro Bowl and this new squad setup is just the latest. At one time, the Pro Bowl players went at it pretty hard. In 1998, the New England Patriots saw their All Star rookie running back Robert Edwards III go down with a career-ending injury during the game. The Pats were quite understandably distressed about this and threatened to withhold their players from future participation unless something was done. The 1980 defensive rookie of the year, Al Richardson, a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, claimed an injury he received in the Pro Bowl his rookie year was responsible for his retirement after five injury-prone seasons. So the rules were changed and the game became more of a flag contest than a real game. Don’t look for it to disappear anytime soon, however. Even though the fans are generally indifferent to the game, the NFL establishment and media still loves it.
Peyton Manning will be appearing in his third Super Bowl and just about all the Indianapolis fan base will be pulling for him to lead the Denver Broncos to a victory over the Seattle Seahawks and pick up a second championship ring. I‘m guessing that I do not have to remind you that the Colts beat both of the conference champions during the regular season, but that is a sidebar. The Broncos and Seahawks won the games that counted. I have also heard some Colts fans say that it would be the Horseshoe in the Super Bowl if we had kept number #18 instead of going with Andrew Luck. Sorry, but there is no way that Peyton could have won the big prize with the current Colts roster. Denver had a strong team and Peyton was the final piece in the Bronco puzzle. Things have worked out well for all the parties involved in the 2012 decisions.
It looks like Super Bowl XLVIII may go down as one of the coldest ever. Winter has hit East Rutherford New Jersey pretty hard and MetLife Stadium is open air. Expect a whole bunch of references to the “Frozen Tundra” of New Jersey and remembrances of the Green Bay Packer/Dallas Cowboy Ice Bowl of 1967. There are, of course, the usual pregame controversies. New England Patriot head Coach Bill Belichick is blaming his team’s loss to the Broncos on pick block by Denver wideout Wes Welker on Patriot cornerback Aqib Talib which resulted in Talib being injured and leaving the game. Belichick claims that the play was a deliberate cheap shot and infers that Welker and the Broncos should be penalized for it. Welker is a former Patriot player. He had issues with Belichick and left New England with a great deal of hard feelings after the 2012 season.
Seattle Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman went on a rant after his team’s win against the 49ers because of the treatment he got from San Francisco 49er wideout Michael Crabtree immediately after the game. Sherman attempted to reach out to Crabtreet, he says, to shake his hand. Crabtree pushed him in the face. The Seahawk defensive back has been criticized for trying to take the spotlight from his team’s win and shine it on himself. Sherman is a smart guy and a notorious self-promoter with Hollywood star looks and a charismatic personality. He is also a top rated player who may be the best at his position. All in all it’s much ado about nothing. The media does need something to write about and will create a controversy if one isn’t readily available.
snicewanger@yahoo.com