"I'm not the run of mill, 'cause for the mill I don't run"

Post Super Bowl thoughts:

All the confetti has fallen and has since been swept off of the streets of Manhattan's 'Canyon Of Heroes' celebrating the Super Bowl XLII win by the champion New York Giants, but not before cementing itself as one of the most dramatic finishes and one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. My man Burnsy hosted a Super Bowl party I attended with other good friends and it was incredible! The atmosphere was just what you want for a game like that. The house divided by Patriots fans and the rest rooting for the Giants like my boy Scotty, who was the only true Giants fan at the party. The highs and lows through the game were nerve wracking! Every first down, every turnover, every sack, completion, incompletion...each subsequent and conceivably game changing play. They all added to the eventual jubilation of the Giants supporters and the shocked reaction of the Pats fans as Eli Manning eluded a swarm of defenders and got the ball to David Tyree who made the most clutch catch I've ever witnessed, as the drive culminated with Plaxico Burress catching the game winning touchdown, and again when it was official as the game clock hit triple zeros.

It's moments like that is what being a sports fan is all about! It didn't hurt that I had picked the Giants two weeks before the Super Bowl and then went as far as to pick the 3 point spread as well. Yeah, I'm still enjoying the bragging rights from that one! :) It was great to chat to three of my NY Giants fan friends, Ryan, Mike, and John (the latter who is a NY Giants season tickets holder), the next day just to hear how excited they were. John, thanks for all the games @ Giants Stadium I've been able to go to over the past few years - the good and the bad!

I watched NFL Network's hour and a half 'NFL Replay' of Super Bowl XLII just for an early taste of the exclusive sideline and on-field footage NFL Films managed to capture. I definitely plan to get a copy of the Super Bowl XLII DVD to hear everything that we didn't get access to during the game.

I really would like to spend a moment talking about Bill Belichick and how ungracious he was in defeat. His immediate post game comments and his post Super Bowl media conference call gave relatively no credit to the Giants for their victory. The stunt he pulled walking off the field with a second left on the game clock before the final knee was extremely poor sportsmanship. If you have the gall to put your starters BACK IN after you already took them out or 'run up the score' in Week 7 & 8, what else are you willing to do?? Hahaha - We already know the answer to that question don't we? I think it's safe to say his name will be in the sporting news this off season, and it won't be for what the Patriots plan to do with my 49ers' 1st round pick in this year's NFL Entry Draft as much as it likely will be for 'Spygate Revisited'...

Blockbuster NBA trades:

There has been a whirlwind of activity in the NBA since I last posted. Pau Gasol going to the LA Lakers to fill their void in the middle and beyond while Andrew Bynum is sidelined. And the latest blockbuster deal that has sent the 'Big Aristotle', Shaquille O'Neal, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for 'The Matrix', Shawn Marion, and Marcus Banks.

The majority of people I've talked to about this deal are skeptical of it or flat out don't think it's going to help Phoenix get over the hump and into the NBA Finals. I can understand those thoughts - Phoenix plays at a frenetic pace that is too much for Shaq, he didn't do anything all season in Miami to this point, or he's simply too old to be able to contribute.

Personally, I think this trade can get Steve Nash and Co. to the land of Champions. Realistically it all depends on Shaquille's health, but he passed his physical which was mandatory in order for the trade to go through. Futhermore, he WAS hurt over the past few weeks and has been rehabbing extensively. The Phoenix Suns medical staff are the ones who helped revitalize Antonio McDyess' career after his potential career ending knee surgery. Off the court matters such as the impending divorce from his wife Shaunie, and his philosphical differences with Miami Heat coach, Pat Riley, on the direction of the team - namely the team not retaining proven outside shooters like Jason Kapono, could also ultimately lead to a renewed focus and an environment that Shaq could thrive in. Shaquille is also an excellent passer especially when he's double teamed, and with the shooters that the Suns have on their roster, this could prove to be deadly for the competiton once the Suns have built the chemistry they need to have going into the post season.

The Stars shine this weekend in 'Nawlins:

This weekend is NBA All Star weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana - filled with all the fan favorites like the Sophomore/Rookie Game, Skills challenge, 3 point contest, the Slam Dunk contest, and then the actual All Star game on Sunday. Kevin Garnett has been ruled out of participating in the game because of his recovery of his abdomen injury. Rasheed Wallace has since been named as his replacement. I'm especially looking forward to the Dunk Off this Saturday night, all of the participants have been actively working on their dunks. Rudy Gay has even been gathering ideas from the fans for one of the dunks he plans to use. This should definitely be entertaining!

Here's the TV schedule of events:

Friday 2/15
9pm (EST) on TNT (USA), The Score (Canada)
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam

Saturday 2/16
8pm (EST) on TNT (USA), TSN (Canada)
NBA All-Star Saturday Night

Sunday 2/17
8pm (EST) on TNT (USA), The Score (Canada)
57th NBA All-Star Game

As always, lemme know what you're thinking - the good, the bad, and the ugly!

"Cooler than a polar bear's toenails..."

Normally I don't post sports pictures I didn't take...so I won't. :) Although, here's a link to one that David Cannon of Getty Images captured of Tiger Woods with his shades on during his round yesterday in Dubai. This is just a classic to me!

It's been more than a week since I've been able to fill this web page with any of my sporting world insight that I know you've all been dying to read (as you all collectively think: "Yeah, right who does this guy think he is?!"). Well the wait is over - so let's get to it shall we?

My man Austin in JoCy, TN sent me a New York Times story last week about Kenny George, a 7'7'', 360 pound hooper from 'The City of Wind' who's in his junior year with the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs. Austin had a chance to see George first hand when UNC-Asheville were playing his alma-mater, the ETSU Buccaneers. The Bucs won, 89-87, in a match that came down to the wire but George didn't go down quietly going 6-7 from the field for 13 points, 9 boards, 4 dimes, and EIGHT blocks. He's averaging 4.4 blocks on the year, while putting up two separate 10 block efforts this season! I'll definitely be following the rest of Kenny George's college career and beyond now. Thanks for the knowledge Austin.

Golf season is in full swing again, at least professionally speaking. I know that's hard to believe, especially living in the Northeast, but golf is one sport that doesn't seem to really have an off season. For example, Tiger Woods' last 'official' PGA tournament for the 2007 season was 'The Tour Championship' that ended on Sept. 16th (which he won, along with the first ever FedEx Cup). He then played the Presidents Cup later that month in Montreal (USA beat the World team, but Mike Wier did beat Tiger in their head to head match up). After that he played in one of his charity tournaments, the 'Target World Challenge', which ended on Dec. 16th (he won that too). He's already played in the Buick Invitational that wrapped up on Jan. 27th (yes, you guessed it - he also won that!).

And now he's currently overseas playing in the European Tour event 'Dubai Desert Classic' where he's in 4th place going into tomorrow's final round (although he was leading after the 1st two rounds). Ernie Els, who is in the lead, is playing GREAT this tournament and has a healthy 4 stroke lead, but that's why they play the game. With all that said, this golf season is just heating up and the best is yet to come. I've made a conscious decision to hit the driving range and the links more this year - early morning style. I'm on the hunt for some Nike irons in the next couple months - I gotta fill up the new golf bag I got for Christmas :)

It's the eve of the Super Bowl and I really tried my best not to watch much of the "25/8/366" coverage they had on NFL Network, the local Boston affiliates we get here, and the regular sports channel outlets. I'm just not interested in seeing the same story on Wes Welker or Brandon Jacobs that I already saw on Week 6. Plaxico has been 'questionable' every week this year, and you know Belichick isn't going to give you a 'sound bite', so at this point I just want to watch the game. I've already come out and said in my first blog's entry comments that the Giants will win the game. So now I'm going to do my best Plaxico Burress impersonation. He predicted a 23-17 Giants win when asked by a reporter last week, I'm going with a 27-24 Giants win - the difference of a field goal. Your legs better be ready Lawrence Tynes!!