Gossip Lounge 101

Keep it rolling...

2007-01-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last week's NFL Wildcard proved to be worth the watch. Most games lived up to the hype and many were decided on key plays. The biggest story of the week: Colts Defense, whichlimited the league's second leading rusher to under 35 yards. What a scene. The Colts were back with their defensive stud Bob 'Hitman ' Sanders to not only provide support in the defensive battle but as well to provide moral support for the troops and it paid off. Now theIndy Colts will fly to Baltimore to take on their tenacious defense.Here's a breakdown.

The Colts played nearly flawless defense against the Chiefs offense. They managed to hold the Chiefs to 0 first downs through 7 possessions. Amazing! The key to this game will be if the Colts can repeat the performance in limiting Jamal Lewis to an average game. The Ravens will take big shotsdownfield as the Colts will play run first so the Colts secondary needs to be on its toes. The Ravens D have their hands full in stopping Peyton Manning and his offense who have won their last three meetings against Baltimore. The Ravens D has always been feared and it has won them a Super Bowl in the past and this years squad could be even better than that Super Bowl team, which is quite alarming. It will come down to who makes the biggest plays. Whether it is taking back an INT for a touchdown or if its a 65 yard passing TD it will come down to that. Of course I am a die hard Colts fan but this week I am afraid of the outcome. Colts take it 34-24.

Movin on to theother AFC game. Best team of the year going against the best team of the decade. MVP vs Super Bowl MVP. This game is unreal. New England Patriots flying to San Diego to take on the Chargers. The crazy coaching mind of BillBellichek will be proven its wroth in this came. The patriots will come prepared to handle LT. Or at least tahts what they think...LT is like the legend Barry Sanders, anytime he has the ball he is threatening to score, which is unbelievable. The two defenses have proven to be big in theleauge . However, once again the Pats will be without their moral captain, Rodney Harrison who is still recovering from his injury. The Chargers are led by theirOLB sack leading second in defesive player of the year, Shawne Merriman. He must be contained in this game as he will go after Brady with fury. Eventhough it seems like Brady thrives under pressure, with time he picks out defenses which is a scary thing as it seems he can't be stopped. Can't wait for this game. I see the Patriots taking this in a thriller 27-21.

Movin on to the NFC. The soaring Eagles heading to New Orleans to take on the heavenly Saints. This game's background might be better than the game itself. We have the cinderella team of the year going against the feel good team of the year. The Saints are still recouping from their losses of the hurricane and have put up an amazing season behind their gunslinger QB, DrewBrees . The Eagles are on fire. I don't see them stopping anytime soon. Jeff Garcia continues to thrive in big games and he will lead his team to the Super Bowl from the NFC. I see the best defense winning this game and I don't think the Eagles will be coughing up the ball much so I'm going with the Eagles on this one 27-13.

The Seattle Seahawks will fly to Chicago to take on the ferocious Bears. Rex Grossman is not a consistant player in the NFL. At times he looks like he's shaken off all the cobwebs and finally is getting it done. But the next game, he'll look like a QB that is coming out of the NFL Europe program. It's quite interesting to see how he does in such a big game. The Bears D will be ready, there is no doubt in that. They are without their D lineman Tommie Harris, but I think the Bears LB corp is enough to handle the running game. TheSeahawks have a decapitated secondary, losing much of their starters early on in the season. Grossman likes to take shots down the field to Berinan, so there's possibilities we'll see some big plays. Matt Hassleback needs to play better this week than he did last week. If he doesen't, the game is already over. He needs to be patient and not throw passes in to coverage. The O Line must provide him time to make good decisoins to deliver the ball to receivers. In this game, we'll see the Hawks flying high 24-10

Well thats it for this weeks previews and predictions. I can almost gurantee this week to be as or even more exciting than the wild card. There is so much on the line, players will give their all to reach the final stage. Should be a good one. So I bid thee farewell and we'll take a look at next weeksmatchups in the following week.

Good Night and God Bless.

Best time of the year...

2007-01-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

That's right. I'm talking about the NFL playoffs. This year once again we have a great set of teams competing. With the almost unstoppable SD Chargers and the fearful D of the Baltimore Ravens with a bye week on the AFC shapes up for the Indianapolis Colts taking on the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets vs New England Patriots. On the otherhand, we have the cinderella team NO Saints and the ferocious Chicago Bears with a bye to create two unreal matches between the Philly 'flyin high' Eagles vs the NY Giants and The Boyz vs the Seattle Seahawks.

Lets break it down. Colts have the worst rush defense in the leauge allowing 173 yards/game. The Chiefs have the incredible Larry Johnson, the man with 416 carries in the season to break the record of the previous 412 and ended second in rushing yards. Most people see upset taking place in Indianapolis. I think not. The answer: Peyton Manning. Let's not forget what took place two years ago in the playoffs when Peyton and the goons visited then healthy Priest Holmes at Arrowhead. It was a shootout till the end with the Indy D coming up HUGE. Priest broke loose when it was tied late in the game, he gained already 65 yards on the run but was leveled but a great hit by Mike Doss which caused a fumble which Indy recovered. Leading to Mannings game winning drive to seal the game. This is why I have Colts winning 31-14.

This game I'm really excited about. The Eagles going against the G Men. Philly rallying behind former CFL start Jeff Garcia to plow into the playoffs and form a winning streak gaining tremendous momentum into the playoffs. While the Giants have had problems on/off the field, they seemed focused last game when they realized their key to winning: Give Tiki the ball every play. History has proven Superbowl Champions tend to go on a winning streak at the end of the season to win the Lombardi Trophy. I feel its not only Garcia getting the job done, but it's Dawkins defense that is playing the major role. This Philly team looked demoralized when they lost their franchise QB early on, but now their eyes seem to have lit up as they seem to be playing with a new sort of passion, reminding me of the previous Superbowl team Carolina Panthers. Eli will struggle, that is almost guranteed. I see him throwing an INT early and struggling from then on. He isn't a QB that dosen't let turnovers bother him, in fact he goes worse and worse in the course of the game after he has a turnover. I see the Eagles taking this in a good one: 27-24.

I love the matchup of the Jets going to Foxborough to play the Patriots. I'm impressed the way Chad 'Comeback Player of the Year' Pennington has played throughout the season and I cant wait to see what he does in the playoffs. The Patriots under their general, Sir Tom Brady, are feared in the playoffs by any opponent. But this is a different New England team. They are without their defensive leader, Rodney Harrison and they lost Vinateri to the free agency in the offseason. Eventhough the Pats got homefield, I see the J-E-T JETS! JETS! JETS! taking this one in a defensive match: 21-10.

Last but not least, we have the Cowboys heading to Seattle in what is to be a showdown. TO's playoff debut, what a scene. With his fingers still taped, we'll see how he fairs in trying to palm catch more balls, expect some dropped passes as usual. But, Tony Romo must play as a pro bowler, not a first year QB. He's been given the spotlight, he mustn't shy away but rather step up and lead his team to victory. Matt and Shaun are back and firing and they better hope they produce or they will be overshadowed. Seattle's D must come up huge in this game meaning no dropped INTs and converging on the ball carrier. I see the team with the best defense taking this one. In this case Dallas: 27-17.

Well thats all fools. Stay tuned for the games this weekend and for our future playoff previews.

Good Night and God Bless.

Not even close...

2006-12-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

I'm talking about UFC vs Pride. We have two very popular fighting shows; however, one is far too overrated. UFC has established itself as a megahouse in the west coast as everyone follows it keenly. However, our Asian friends have established the most intense fighting network ever: Pride FC. UFC has great potential but its rules limit it to medicore matches. Every once in a while we may have a slugfest but its never consistent. The refs jump in far too early to stop the fight. As almost everyone saw Shamrock vs Ortiz, such a megafight was limited because of the sad stoppages.

Pride on the other hand delivers knockout blows consistently from great stars. People are beginning to realize where the true talent lies and are starting to pay attention to the exhibitions. At one event, UFC had loaned their most shining star, Chuck "The Iceman" Lidell to participate in a match against Pride's body slamming king, Quintan "Rampage" Jackson.

Rampage is at the top of Pride, but is not the champion nor is he even a contendor. The Iceman stlil hasn't fougt the cream of the crop of Pride which include Fedor Silva and Mirko Cro Cop. Lidell did not stand a chance from the get go. UFC stars are babied too much and this just shows how they can't survive in Pride. So in the end, stay tuned to this coming weekend when Pride hosts another event which showcases great stars as Fedor Emilaneko and Wanderlei Silva.