I Hate Peter Forsberg

I know, I know...this is the third consecutive post about the NHL on The Wheelhouse. Bare with us here...unlike the rest of the country, we enjoy hockey at The Wheelhouse.

There used to be a time like eight years ago that I was a fan of the Colorado Avalanche. Of course my main team was always the Penguins, but I enjoyed watching the Aves play with Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg. They were loaded and exciting to watch. When the USA flamed out in the Winter Olympics...I always found myself pulling for Forsberg, Mats Sundin and Sweden (don't ask why...it goes back to the Nintendo game "Ice Hockey").

Well now I'm really tired of him. After sitting out the entire season as a free agent due to an "injury," Forsberg signed this week with Colorado...with about one month left in the season. How many times has he done this? Who does he think he is? I'm tired of hearing about his injury and that's the reason why he hasn't played an entire regular season in forever. It's garbage...the guy wants to skip the trials of the season and show up on a playoff team to attempt to get another Cup. All he does is take the year off, hang out in Sweden and play hockey with his buddies. Last year Nashville acquired the forward for their playoff push, and it didn't work out too well for the Predators as they were bounced from the postseason in the first round.

And now the Aves have picked him up for a playoff run. Couple of problems with that. First, Forsberg's apparently not ready to play yet. The PR machine says it's his "nagging foot injury." I say it's because he hasn't played competitive hockey in over a year and is out of shape, but whatever Colorado, pay him millions to sit the bench. The second problem with this signing is the Aves are currently two points out of the playoff race. So they go out and acquire a guy who only wants to play for a playoff team and there's no timetable for his return? Nice pickup Colorado.

Then again they also traded for defenseman Adam Foote bringing him back to the team that he won two Cups with as well. Oh I see what the Aves are trying to do bringing back players from their past. Where's Patrick Roy?

Marian Hossa

The Pittsburgh Penguins made the big headline today during crunch time of the NHL trading deadline by shipping forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first-round draft pick to Atlanta for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. I probably looked like a giddy school girl when I first heard the news...the Pens are really going for it all! When I saw who the Pens had given up for him, I was disappointed to see Colby and Christensen go, but it had to be done to acquire Hossa. After talking with some of my fellow Penguins fans and random co-workers, the general consensus was the Pens gave up too much for Hossa. I don't understand where that's coming from. Yes, in basic numbers of the deal, we gave up more pieces (4 to 2) but the talent in return makes the Pens offense absolutely scary and overall a better team.

Hossa is a legit goal scorer in the NHL. He was the biggest name on the trading block this year and plenty of teams were vying for his services. Through 60 games this season, Hossa has 26 goals, 30 assists after scoring 43 goals, 57 assists for 100 points last year, good for sixth in NHL scoring. He's also scored 30 or more goals in the past six seasons. And the Pens are putting him on the same team with Crosby (who was leading the NHL in scoring before his injury) and Malkin (who is currently leading the NHL in scoring after tonight). Hossa's a premier scorer and All-Star so you know what you're getting.

Now let's talk about what the Pens gave up for Hossa. The Pens dealt two fan favorites away in Armstrong and Christensen, but let's not go overboard here on them. Armstrong is in his third year and has declined since his rookie year when he scored 16 goals in 47 games. Last year in a full 80 games, he only scored 12 and through this year he only has nine goals and just 24 points. And his numbers are inflated (as anybody's would be) playing on a line with Crosby. Army's a third liner that will score about 35 points a season...you can find those guys anywhere. Christensen is another forward in his third year and he showed signs of a prospect last season with 18 goals in 61 games...but this year he has only 20 points through 49 games. Like Armstrong, Christensen is a third liner on most teams in the NHL. Look, the Penguins were not going to win the Stanley Cup with Army and Christensen...but they sure can win it with Hossa, Crosby and Malkin. Let's also not forget that the Pens did receive another player in this deal and Dupuis has 10 goals on the season (more than both former Penguins traded) and he's a bruising forward who can help Laraque give the Pens a little more punch.

But wait, the Penguins also dealt a future first-round pick and a prospect to the Thrashers. Trading an NHL draft pick is not that big of deal. Unless you have the top three picks, you probably aren't getting a given superstar like a Crosby or Ovechkin and plenty of stars in the NHL are found in the later rounds (Zetterberg, Hasek, Datsyuk, Alfredsson). There's about a two percent chance that draft pick would pan out to be anything productive for Pittsburgh. Plus the Pens already have four solid number one picks on their team, there's no room for another one and since the Pens won't be drafting high anyway next year...what's the point? Originally, Atlanta wanted Jordan Staal in exchange for Hossa and that would have been a disaster to lose Staal. But the Pens didn't give in to that and worked out a deal where they still got Hossa and kept Staal. If draft picks had to go, so be it.

The key to this deal is if Hossa will be a "rented" player for the rest of this year and then leave as a free agent next season. I really don't think Ray Shero made this deal to rent Hossa for two months and then let him go. I believe the Pens will do everything they can to sign him for a 2-3 year deal after the season and stay under the cap. And if Hossa helps Crosby, Malkin and the boys bring the Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh this summer then the deal was worth it all the way whether Hossa stays or not.

Obviously the Stanley Cup is not guaranteed because of this trade, and there are plenty of other things the Pens need to fall into place to have a chance...like their defense showing up, Fleury and Crosby getting healthy and a little bit of luck along the way. But you have to be willing to take risks and put your team in a position to be lethal when you decide that you're going for it. Former Pens GM Craig Patrick did it back in 1991 when he dealt three players to Hartford for Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson. Two Stanley Cups later, I think that worked out well for Pittsburgh. Let's Go Pens!

Not Easterns Motors, But Still Funny

I love car dealership commercials starring local sports celebrities.

The Academy Awards

I've always been a fan of the Oscars. And why not? I'm a movie kind of guy. I watch tons of movies and try to keep up with the latest top flicks of the year. So every year I get excited to see the Hollywood contingent dressed to the nines, throwing a massive awards show honoring the best movies (according to The Academy). I look forward to the ridiculous scene that is the Oscars, that is, seeing overpaid actors living in paradise all blow smoke up each other's asses for four hours and give over-the-top acceptance speeches. Oh yes, Sunday was the 80th annual Academy Awards.

So last night I'm on my couch raring to go, but there was a problem. The 80th annual Academy Awards show sucked. There's no other way to put it. I don't know what exactly it was, but the show was far from what it had been in prior years. Maybe it was the lack of quality movies (There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd...come on, seriously?) up for awards or maybe it was the lack of one movie running away with the show or maybe it was Jon Stewart's jokes missing their marks or maybe it was just me. Nothing that exciting happened. The songs performed were snoozers (three numbers from Enchanted...are you kidding me?) by people nobody has ever heard of. Hell, get Beyonce back that the Academy fell in love with two years ago when she performed about 23 times. And Stewart did an okay job, not great though. He had some good jokes and some witty input throughout the show, but for the most part his jokes were missing their marks. Of course he did a joke about democrats and one on how Bush is dumb...blah blah blah...we've heard these before Jon. Maybe it was the lack of time the writers had to deliver these jokes with the strike recently ending...who knows. Plus I think he held back on directing the humor toward individuals in the crowd. Stewart's better than that...he should of poked more fun at celebrities in the audience. Plus some of the videos they showed that were supposed to be funny ended up being just stupid (see the movie montage to binoculars).

The whole night wasn't all bad though. A refreshing moment was watching the down-to-earth Coen brothers speech after winning for adapted screenplay and picture of the year. Joel Coen, who hardly said anything the first time on stage, added after winning picture of the year, "I don't have much to add from before....thank you." Thank you Joel for being modest and keeping it short.

I was pulling for Juno or Michael Clayton for picture of the year and even though neither won, it was nice to see Juno and Diablo Cody (no way that's her real name) win for original screenplay. Very odd to see an ex-stripper on stage winning an Oscar as voted by The Academy...that's just something you don't see everyday.

Also, there was no Al Gore sightings! (Unless of course Al has taken the identity of someone else and in that case, we are all in serious trouble). It became the norm over the past few years for the liberal Academy to parade Gore on stage to talk about some iceberg that's melting somewhere and totally kill the mood of the evening as well. Kudos to the Academy for canning that annoying act.

That's all I have on this year's show. Overall I thought it was a yawn fest and hopefully it'll turn around next year. I have an idea for 2009...get Lewis Black or Ron White to host it...that'll mix things up a bit. If you disagree on this year's Oscars, let me hear about it below.

FOX Robot Needs To Go

Okay FOX, cut the crap. That annoying FOX robot needs to go. You know the one that shows up after commercial breaks during football games, jumps up and down, runs idly and does nothing that has to do with football. I know this is way overdue, but it needs to be said...or written.

I don't know when exactly the robot debuted for FOX. I know that it's been around a long time and grew out its welcome after about one Sunday. I've never understood why Fox felt the need to add this robot to its program or the reasoning behind it. I can't even imagine a conference room somewhere in Fox's studios where the idea was uttered up by some "marketing genius" and the people in the same room ate it up as an ideal plan.

Finally, someone decided it was time to kick the robot's ass. Enter...Terminator on Super Bowl Sunday. And the Terminator did not disappoint...



Justice! Now following the Terminator movie rules for time travel, I came up with an obvious answer. Someone in the future, who finally had enough of the FOX robot and knew he would cause the downfall of mankind if he continued, programmed the Terminator to travel back into the past and destroy the robot on national TV. I thought it was over.

I was wrong. Since nobody watches the Pro Bowl, you probably missed it. The robot made a glorious return in perfect condition. And...he was sporting a grass skirt and Hawaiian lei and was doing a hula dance. I wish I were joking.

What does any of this have to do with football?!?! And don't tell me it has anything to do with the advertisements. If I were those advertisers spending a fortune to have my logo on TV for five seconds and this freaking machine was jumping around like a damn pinball, I would be pissed. The robot idea was dumb from day one and it's dumb now. I can't think of a better word for it right now. It's just dumb. Get rid of it next year, FOX. I beg you...you can keep Joe Buck around, just can the robot now.

Pitchers and Catchers Reporting

"They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell
you to hit it square." -- Willie Stargell

Lost in the shuffle of the Clemens, McNamee, Pettitte, HGH headlines today was pitchers and catchers reported to Florida and Arizona, signaling that the first signs of spring and baseball are just around the corner! Thank God. Despite being a Pirates fan, every year I'm pumped for the start of spring training. I guess when you think about it every team (yes even the Bucs) has a shot at beginning anew and claiming that World Series title in the fall. Of course, the Pirates will be out of by the end of April, but hey from a sunny perspective in Florida we sure can dream right?

So what's going on this first day of spring training? Here are some news clippings from around the Grapefruit and Cactus League.

The World Champs are back. The Red Sox pitchers and catchers reported today to Fort Myers and apparently they are thinking about repeating as champions. Shocking, I know. And they have a good shot of doing the job. They didn't lose much of any significant players from last year's team and with a pitching staff that will return Josh Beckett, Dice K, young prospects Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and the ever-reliable 4.00 ERA/180 IP guy per year Tim Wakefield. Forget about Curt Schilling for now...his loss, for half a season or whatever it'll be, hurts but this team won't need him to cruise into the playoffs. I'm sure he'll suddenly be back and healthy come October.

The Dodgers checked into Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., for the 61st year and also their last as the team plans to move onto Glendale, Arizona next year (of course it would be the fast rising city of Glendale). Sure the move to Arizona makes sense geographically, but moving out of Dodgertown where you have been for over 61 years is a bit weak. But I guess the Dodgers are used to pulling out of things to make more money somewhere else.

Reigning AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia checked into the Tribe's camp in Winter Haven, Fla., and announced that he was done talking about a possible extension with the Indians until after the season. Sabathia could become a free agent after the 2008 season, and I'm sure he wants to test the free agent market and see the $$$ that awaits him. Supposedly Cleveland offered him a four-year deal where he would make at least $17 mil next year. That wasn't good enough and really, with the Yankees and Red Sox out there reading to spend money, it probably wasn't enough. Sabathia is rolling the dice, though, in a contract year and better produce if he wants a Johan Santana type deal.

A couple of former junk Pirates showed up on new rosters today as well. Former No. 1 draft pick Kris Benson signed with the Phillies. Wow, look who's desperate for pitching. After his publicized divorce from Anna Benson, Kris missed the entire 2007 season due to some injury (it doesn't matter, he's had all of them in his career) and I totally forgot he could still throw the baseball. Also, Craig Wilson (nicknamed "Thor" in Pittsburgh) signed with the Reds. If there's one place that will tolerate striking out a ton and blasting home runs once a week, it's Cincinnati so maybe he'll make the team and then bury the Pirates in their first series with four home runs in three games.

Speaking of former Pirates, it was reported that Dodgers pitcher Jason Schmidt will likely not be ready for Opening Day and there's no timetable for his return. Yeah, that three-year, $47 million contract he signed last offseason is looking solid for LA. What does Schmidt have to show for all that money so far? One win. He went 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA last season before needing surgery. Joe Torre has his work cut out for him in the city of Angels.

Oh yeah, can you feel baseball in the air?! The Wheelhouse can and I can't wait to get the season underway.

Who Wants To Commit Perjury?

When I was younger, like five or so, I used to believe that the sports leagues were government agencies. It made sense; their names were abbreviations, red, white and blue were in their color schemes, and often there were stars involved in the logos. When I found out that the NFL was run by a bunch of rich people instead of the government, I was completely crestfallen.

Now I'm wondering if I wasn't right all along.

Today the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a 4 ½ hour hearing to try and determine who is the bigger perjurer, Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee. What is this country coming to?

Seriously, both men walked into the Congress of the United States of America, swore to God Almighty to tell the truth, then told two completely contradictory stories while sitting at the same table.

Under oath:
Clemens: "I have never taken steroids or HGH..."
McMamee: "Make no mistake: When I told Sen. Mitchell that I injected Roger Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, I told the truth."

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ. One of these bastards just committed perjury.

I don't know what I'm more offended over though, that one of these two guys have the balls to lie to Congress under oath, or that Congress is holding hearings to get answers about whether or not a baseball player got juiced like everybody else in MLB through what is now being called, “The Steroids Era.”

What business is this of Congress' anyway? Are we not at war? Seriously, because I thought we were at war. I could have sworn we were at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I guess that's going well enough that we can focus on a game. A game!

Congress has created a media circus over these baseball hearings. From Mark McGwire refusing to answer questions, to Rafael Palmero wagging his finger, to today- blatant perjury by either one of the game's all time greats, or a confirmed scum bag- it has been a long road to nowhere.

Congress has about as much business in baseball as the Pittsburgh Pirates have in drafting appropriation bills. If you want to know the truth about all the shadiness that has taken place regarding steroids and baseball over the past thirty years, read the Mitchell Report, it's all there. There's no need to hold hearings, the only crime that has been committed is the waste of taxpayers' dollars.

Of course, this won't end here. Now that we know that either Clemens or McNamee has lied under oath, the media will set forth to prove one to be the liar that he is. This will obviously lead to federal charges of perjury, because lying to Congress under oath is a felony. Consider this, if somehow there were to be collected enough evidence to prove Roger Clemens lied today, he could land in federal “pound my ass” prison. All because he won't say what we all know, and because Congress wants to either make him admit it, or serve time.

The only court Clemens should be tried in is the court of public opinion, and the only business Congress should have in baseball is buying season tickets to Nationals games.

What a sad day for baseball, and what a sadder day for America.

Next Week on As the Clemens Turns, Roger Takes Former Trainer Hostage

This Roger Clemens situation is getting ridiculous. No, we were at the ridiculous stage when Roger called a press conference to have the country listen to his 40-minute phone conversation with his former trainer Brian McNamee that revealed nothing. Now we've hit the insane stage as this story continues to get weirder. This was clearly evident on Friday when I read the latest story where McNamee claims to have injected Roger's wife with HGH. You couldn't make this stuff up for a daytime soap opera. Is it just me or is anybody else really tired of this Clemens-McNamee drama?

Everyone that knows me knows I'm a huge baseball fan...I even work in the sport and follow it everyday. But this whole situation is out of control and I just don't care anymore. The media continues to cover it because yes, it's a stunning story involving one of the premier pitchers in the history of the game. But I think a lot of people stopped caring about it a while ago, including me. It's terrible that the game has come to this with steroids, but there's nothing you can do about it since McGwire, Bonds and everybody in the Mitchell report was indicated. I'm ready to chalk this whole period as the steroids era and move on. The reports are out, testing procedures are at its strongest level ever so let's move on for the game's sake.

Roger, you are guilty...everyone knows you are guilty. Save face and fade away. You said yourself during your useless press conference that you didn't care about the Hall of Fame and all that so stop trying to clear yourself when you are clearly guilty. Maybe people could give you the benefit of the doubt, but when players who were named in the Mitchell report like Andy Pettitte and Brian Roberts come out and admit they did it, then it's hard to believe you Roger.

I have more respect for a guy like Pettitte to say, "Yeah I knew it was wrong and I did it anyway...I'm sorry, it was a mistake." Since admitting his fault, nobody is chastising Pettitte for his part in taking steroids. People make mistakes, we are a forgiving country...move on. But instead of learning a lesson from his friend, Clemens goes on national TV and lies that he's going to prove that he's innocent and make everyone sit through a conversation with his former trainer, where not once did he tell McNamee, "I'm innocent and you have to tell the people that because I've never done that to my body." Why didn't Roger just say that to him? Because it's not true. Both of them were bouncing around the truth in the conversation and the point of the call was Clemens basically telling McNamee, "After all that I've done for you, how can you rat me out." Roger took the stuff, knows that there may not be physical proof against him and made the decision to take McNamee head-on in this ongoing drama.

Every new headline I read about this each day makes me forget about Clemens' 354 career wins or his seven Cy Young awards or his 20 strikeouts in a game with Boston. The Mitchell report definitely put a dark shadow on Clemens' career, but this continuing drama and his defiance to take responsibility for his actions is ruining his legacy.

Romney Refuses to Tap Out

I'm confused, did Mitt “Mittens” Romney quit the race for the Republican Presidential nomination today? I mean, it sure did seem like it. The media acted like it. His wife was certainly frowning as if that was what was going down. However, there's one thing that's keeping me from saying we've seen the last of Mitt Romney: he didn't say so.

Romney said the following, "I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country.” His people however are calling his campaign “suspended.”

Suspended? What the hell does that mean? I didn't know, so I looked it up. Here's some insight thanks to our friends over at Dictionary.com

-to defer or postpone
-to cause to cease or bring to a stop or stay, usually for a time
-to cause to cease for a time from operation or effect, as a law, rule, privilege, service, or the like
-to debar, usually for a limited time, from the exercise of an office or function or the enjoyment of a privilege

Anyone see a recurring theme above? There's some permanence lacking in the word “suspend.”

What is Mittens planning to do, take a couple months off, then pop back in the picture in October? You're either in or you're out. What we need is a good, old fashioned “I Quit” match to settle the race for President.

Now it's left to John McCain to unify the party. Apparently though, the far right of the party wants nothing to do with him. For some reason ultra conservatives don't believe that John McCain is an actual Republican. McCain has a long row to hoe, and maybe Mitt thinks he can lie in wait in the event that the base revolts. That, of course, remains to be seen.

Now the storyline will turn to the Obama-Hillary showdown. With any luck, that will come down to the convention. It would be great to see an old fashioned convention, where the delegates actually get together and vote on who the nominee will be, let it take a couple ballots. Imagine the most tense tribal counsel you've ever seen on Survivor, now multiply that by about a million, that's what a nominating convention would be like. Two will enter, only one will walk out alive.

Politics would be so much better if it were Wrestlemania.

Fool's Gold: Patriots Severely Overrated

It's ok to make the statement. People will not write you off as crazy anymore. The 2007 New England Patriots were severely overrated.

All season and especially in the past two weeks, the football "experts" and national media would have you believe that the Patriots were the greatest team of all-time and Super Bowl XLII would not be close. An 18-0 team with the highest-scoring offense in NFL history heading for a perfect season as a 12-point favorite, failed in the end...in the biggest game of the year. Turns out, the "greatest team of all-time" wasn't even the greatest team of 2007. As Todd pointed out earlier this week, the Patriots had not won anything yet and this is the reason why you play the game.

Hats off to the Giants. How quickly things can change in the landscape of the NFL. Seven weeks ago, Eli Manning was a joke and never going to lead his team anywhere. At the end of last season a lot of people (me included) said Tom Coughlin should be fired. Now, they are both World Champions. Eli was always in the shadow and never going to be as successful as his brother...well there's one way to shut your critics up and have your name remembered and that's winning Super Bowls. On the other hand, all the records the Pats piled up this year mean absolutely nothing at the end of the season when they are not holding up the Lombardi trophy.

With everything surrounding this game from an undefeated season and a 12-point line...you have to say this is one of the greatest upsets in NFL history. Even though when they played in Week 17, it was a three-point game and even though the Giants were the hotter team in the playoffs. Despite all of that, still nobody gave the Giants a chance. Just like when nobody gave the Chargers a chance against the Colts this year or when the Steelers had no chance against the Colts in the 2005 playoffs. I've said it before...the worst thing a team can do is underestimate their opponent. Because that's when the upsets happen and become memorable.

STUNNED

If anything else, this game reminds me of why I love sports. While history was on the line for a season of perfection, a cast of unlikely players emerged to steal the show and make their own dent in history. Despite trailing in the fourth quarter, despite only scoring once in the entire game, you had that sick feeling deep down that the arrogant Patriots would somehow pull this game out. Their late score seemed to prove it as they took the lead. But the Giants moved the football, made an unbelievable catch that will go down as one of the greatest in Super Bowl history and pulled off the stunning upset.

Some will say it was just a game. But us sports fanatics know better. This game proved that anything can happen and that's why we continue to watch sports. You never say never.

Nothing's Gonna Change My World

There were plenty of funny, idiotic and crazy news happenings this week and I figured to discuss a couple of them at The Wheelhouse.

Did you hear about this news? NASA is planning on beaming a Beatles song into outer space Monday. The Beatles' song Across the Universe (fitting) will head into outer space at 7 PM Eastern Time on Monday and will be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is a short 431 light years away from Earth and won't reach Polaris for a long time. I can't stress enough how stupid this is. They don't mention the numbers in any of these articles, but my guess is beaming sounds into outer space and perfectly aiming it to a point in the sky isn't exactly the same price as a happy meal at McDonalds. Why is NASA wasting time and money on this? Instead, why don't they focus their time to answer questions like life of Mars or if an asteroid is barreling toward us.

Happy Groundhog's Day! Today in the small (and I stress small) town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania everybody's lovable groundhog, Phil, was pulled out of his hole to forecast the weather. And as usual Phil saw his shadow again, leading to six more weeks of winter. A record crowd of more than 30,000 people gathered at Gobler's Knob to see Phil this year with Feb. 2nd falling on a weekend. We at The Wheelhouse used to make the small trek from our hometown to Punxy every year to celebrate the festivities during the simpler times of our college days, but like everything else, jobs and our lives got in the way this year.

Terrelle Pryor is milking his college decision for everything it's worth. Pryor, the number one prospect coming out of high school this year, is down to about four schools on his list of who to sign with and play football for. I don't like to rave about what athletes did in high school because mostly it's against joke competition, but coming out of Jeanette High School outside of Pittsburgh, Pryor had a ridiculous career (only player in PA history to run for 4,000 yards and throw for 4,000 yards) while leading his team to the state championship his senior year by mercy-ruling teams the entire way. The NCAA national letter of intent day is February 6th and according to an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pryor was going to announce his decision live on ESPN, but now might hold off on his decision for a while due to a possible visit to Oregon next week. Michigan and Ohio State are still the two main frontrunners for Pryor, but Oregon and Penn State are still in running though he had this to say about Happy Valley last week, "I just don't know about the area up there. I don't know if I'd like being in that kind of area." Uh, hey Terrelle...you don't like State College? Have you been to Columbus?

The Super Bowl is tomorrow. I will admit that I have watched zero minutes of analysis, highlights and pre-game hoopla from ESPN the past two weeks because it's all a circus and I just want the game to start. So on the eve of Super Bowl XLII a report is released that claims a Patriots employee taped the Rams walkthrough the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. That was the Super Bowl where the Pats were heavy underdogs and then came out and shocked the Rams for their first championship. Now the report is missing certain details at this time and the NFL is looking into it, but there's no doubt in my mind that this is true. The Pats were caught doing this in Week 1 of this season and punished by the NFL, but it's naive to think they haven't done it in other years. The media needs to stop downplaying spygate and finally admit that some of their Super Bowl titles (if not all) might not be legit as we all think. In a three-point game against the Rams in SB XXXVI, you think having the other teams' plays and signals wouldn't make a difference? Please. Hopefully the NFL investigates and gets to the bottom of this. If anything it's another cloud that hovers over Belichick and Patriots as they go for 19-0 tomorrow in Arizona.

Entrapment: Plaxico Burress and Media Day

How is anyone giving Plaxico Burress any guff for predicting his Giants would beat the Patriots 23-17 in the Super Bowl? Seriously, what do you expect him to say?

This week, during one of the approximately 123,084 media sessions where players are forced to meet with reporters, Burress gave the score in response to a question asking what the game's outcome would be.

For some reason, this didn't go over very well. Tom Brady acted as if you had called his woman a whore, and Giants coach Tom Coughlin promised a quiet man to man talking to. Why?

Players are forced to meet with the media, and the media (needing a story) set up players with leading questions so they can make their deadline. It goes sorta like this:

Reporter: Plax, do you think you guys are going win Sunday?
Plax: Yeah, we'll win.
Reporter: You think you're going to win? Would you guarantee it?
Plax: Yeah, whatever, I guarantee it, we'll win.... 23-17
Reporter: Thanks, Plax.
Later......
Reporter: Hey, Tom Brady, did you hear what Plax said about beating you Sunday?
Brady: No, what he say?
Reporter: He says they're going to win 23-17 and that you're gay.
Brady: That fucker.

BAM. Instant story.

This is what the media does, they manipulate and create stories from thin air. What else was Plax going to say? Of course he thinks his team is going to win, and of course he has to guarantee it- what else is he going to say- that he thinks they have a good shot but it all comes down to how much pressure they get on Brady and if they can knock Randy Moss off his routes?!

As for Coughlin getting pissed and reading Plax the riot act for giving Brady and the Pats bulletin board fodder, that's nonsense. Do you seriously think the Patriots were lacking motivation in the Super Bowl? Like Plaxico's score prediction is going to get them up more for the game.

Instead of being all over Burress for being so bold as to predict the team he plays for is going to win the biggest game of his professional life, why don't we just call bullshit on the media for once again creating a story where there isn't one. This, along with all the other comical nonsense that was part of this year's Super Bowl Media Day, is proof enough that there should be no week in between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. It simply leaves the media with too much time on their hands to hype a game which should stand on its own as simply the World Championship of Professional Football.