Idle thoughts for a wild weekend
Wild Card weekend promises to be the best show in town – even if it doesn’t involve your team. It’s the “anything can happen” time of the year. Who can resist rooting for the Colts who put those posers the Houston Texans back where they belong- behind the Broncos and Patriots. Actually, Houston is lucky to be a third sede. How did they fool everybody with that gaudy 11-1 record? Total frauds.
It was Andrew Luck and the Colts who served up the Texas toast last Sunday. There was no way Indy could lose with their beloved coach and cancer survivor Chuck Pagano back on the sidelines. When was the last time Patriot’s fans pulled for a team from Indianapolis? The whole thing is so weird. Andrew Luck is no Peyton Manning– but he’s wearing Peyton’s old colors and doing some amazing Peyton-type things. Luck is a cerebral, rookie quarterback. Is it just me, or is it all about smarts now with NFL quarterbacks? There is no getting by anymore on athletic talent alone. The best QB’s in today’s game can learn a playbook over night, and read a defense as well as an MIT student solves an impossible equation. Talk about thinking on your feet- Manning, Brady, Brees, Rogers, they can figure it out, scramble out of trouble, and consistently pull off big plays with huge, fast, athletic defensive players going in for the kill. Back to Andrew Luck and the Colts. They got it done last week, but they can’t win away from home. No way. So thanks to Indy for making the Patriots road to New Orleans that much better. And take heart you Colts fans, your quarterback is the real deal.
Moving on to the Broncos and Denver, the new Peyton Place. Man, does this guy ever go away? Here he is again. Peyton, the good old boy New England will always loathe. Manning is sitting there, just like Tom Brady this weekend- feet propped up on the coffee table. There he is, saying to himself “cut that meat.’
Bring it on boys.
Bill Belichick‘s team swears they never look past the next game. Believe me, they have visions of Peyton Manning dancing in their heads every night. (Kind of like sugar plums, but not as sweet.)
On a hockey note, the college game is alive and well. “Go Johnny Go” is the new mantra at BC. Jerry York has earned his due behind the bench, and he has a rock star of a player. Sophomore Johnny Gaudreau has become a sensation. He is small, feisty, fast and from New Jersey. Think Springsteen on ice. If you haven’t checked out his goal from last year’s national championship, you should, right now. If you love hockey, remember Bobby Orr, appreciate great, fast skating, and terrific moves, you need to see this kid play. Google it. More recently, Johnny has been killing it for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. Johnny Hockey scored two goals last night to put the Americans into the Gold Medal game against Sweden.
Happy New Year to all, enjoy the NFL playoffs, and don’t miss the action over the next few days. They call it Wild Card Weekend for a reason- something crazy is going to happen.
