Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, one of the greatest, but also most bittersweet days of the year IMO. It's been a while since I used that vocab word with you so allow my friend Nathan Fielder to give you a refresher on that unfamiliar term.
Much like the funeral business, the Super Bowl is very bittersweet. Bitter because in a way it's a funeral for the season; it represents the end. After Super Bowl Sunday there is no more NFL football until August when the preseason begins. Very sad indeed! Much like a funeral! Sundays just aren't the same without football, just like your life isn't the same after losing a loved one.
But! it's also sweet in the sense that it's the fucking Super Bowl. The greatest sporting event of the year, the night the NFL crowns it's league champion. Even if you're not a huge sports fan (loser) it's still appealing because it's much more than just a football game with the food, parties, commercials, half-time show and other what-have-you. It's one of the biggest nights of the year. As a Patriots fan it's a nearly annual tradition. I still can't believe the Eagles are in this game. Going into the playoffs I thought they had the 10th best chance to win the Super Bowl.
I like millions of other people wrote them off entirely after Carson Wentz tore his ACL. Even as they hung on to the one seed I figured they'd lose their first playoff game. It made all the sense in the world, however, sports usually do not make sense which is what makes them so amazing. If what you expected to happen always happened it'd be boring AF.
Under the guidance of BDN Foles the Eagles didn't lose in the playoffs, they're still here and earned the right to represent the National Football Conference. They squeaked by the defending NFC Champion Falcons 15-10 and blew out the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 to reach the franchise's third Super Bowl and first since 2004 where they also played the Patriots. Maybe I wasn't giving Foles enough credit, he was a Pro Bowler with the Eagles in 2013 when he had an amazing regular season. In 2013 he broke the touchdown to interception ratio record when he tossed 27 touchdowns and only 2 picks in 2013. That was also the last time the birds made the playoffs. He's not your average back-up QB, there have been glimpses of success in this league. He has a 7 touchdown game and pro bowl appearance under his belt as well. It's a strange situation with this Eagles team, they did go 13-3 and have a fantastic defense (4th overall) with stars like Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Malcolm Jenkins. But they are sort of a miraculous, underdog story given all the injuries (not just Wentz) this team faced this year. Nobody expected them to be here when the season began. They were expected to finish in 3rd or 4th in the NFC East. Much of this group hasn't been there before, as this entire roster has 7 Super Bowl appearances in total.
Then of course there's the New England Patriots, defending Super Bowl champs looking for their 3rd Super Bowl win in 4 seasons. Something the franchise has accomplished before during their 2001-04 run. They like the Eagles also went 13-3, were the #1 seed in their conference and have battled adversity. After losing their season opener there were talks that the Kansas City Chiefs would become the team to beat in the AFC, and for the first third of the season they were.
It seems like forever ago but this Patriots team started 2-2, realistically could've been 1-3, they should've lost to the Texans. Thank God for Tom Brady.
Their defense was in shambles, in the first four games the Patriots defense gave up 42, 20, 33, 33 points respectively. Opposing receivers were regularly running down field wide up as the Patriots' secondary was in shambles. The Stephon Gilmore signing was looking like a massive mistake.
As the season went on they lost All-Pro linebacker Dont'a Hightower yet somehow their defense found a way to finish in the top 5 in points allowed. It should be noted that they also finished 29th in yards allowed. They are the textbook example of "bend but don't break". Since week 5 they're allowing 14.4 points a game. In the playoffs the Patriots handled the Tennessee Titans 35-14 and the game wasn't even as close at the score indicates, but struggled with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The would go on to with 24-20 but it took another classic Tom Brady 4th quarter comeback to do. Danny Amendola had arguably his greatest day as a Patriot. I was nervous throughout the whole game, but deep down felt like the Pats would prevail just because they're the Patriots, and it's the Jaguars. After Dion Lewis fumbled things changed, that's when doubt truly began to occur. I really thought the Jaguars were going to pull it off after that. They didn't, and for the 8th time under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick the Patriots are in the Super Bowl. As for the game itself....
Super Bowl LII 15-3 Philadelphia Eagles vs. 15-3 New England Patriots
U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota 6:30 PM NBC Despite being a 13-3 football team the Eagles have embraced the underdog role throughout the playoffs.
Lucky for them the Pats have opened up as 5.5 point favorite. So for the third straight game they're underdogs. The line has moved, some books have it at -4.5. I get that's how gambling works but to me the Super Bowl is all about who wins, not the spread.
Every Super Bowl the Patriots have played in under Bill Belichick has been a one score game. Ironically last year when the Patriots trailed 28-3 they ended up having their largest margin of victory when they beat the Falcons by six points thanks to James White's walk-off TD in overtime. If you're going off history taking the Eagles to cover seems like a smart bet. If I was gonna bet on the game (I'm not, I'm retired) I'd take the Eagles money line, but that's more so just for the emotional hedge. If the Pats lose at least get some money out of it. The thing is the Patriots aren't going to lose. Obviously I'll regret saying that if they somehow do, but I truly believe that they'll just find a way to win this game. As long as Tom Brady is healthy, they have a great chance to win. Plus he has added motivation after his personal live was put on blast this week with his daughter being called a pissant on local radio, and the kiss heard round the world with his 11 year son stole Super Bowl week. can-tom-brady-make-the-father-son-on-the-lip-kiss-cool.html Here a couple stats that I believe will reign true for the Patriots tomorrow. The Brady-Belichick Patriots are 15-0 in the playoffs against teams they did not face in the regular season. The Patriots did not play the Eagles in the regular season. The Eagles defensive coordinator is Jim Schwartz. Tom Brady is 5-2 in his career against Jim Schwartz defenses. One loss was in 2002 and the other was in a meaningless week 17 game in 2014 where Brady only played the first half. The Patriots average over 30 points a game in those five wins. In addition the Patriots experience is quite possibly the biggest key to this game. Doug Pederson is a 2nd year head coach. This will be Belichick's 11th Super Bowl. Brady and Belichick know how the Super Bowl goes, it's not like other games, it's like an hour longer than a normal game with the half time show and all the other bull shit. They used that to their advantage last season where they used their conditioning to beat the Falcons as they wore down due to the Patriots running like 100 plays. They were fatigued and the Patriots used that to their advantage late to tie and eventually win the game. Other teams may have the Patriots beat in the talent department, but nobody is ever more prepared for any given situation than them. It's also the last time the Patriots will have Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels as they're both leaving for head coaching jobs. I just don't see a way they go out with a Super Bowl loss. The stars are aligning for this to go much like how things went in 2004. Patriots win 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years with the third victory coming over the Eagles, then both coordinators leave for head coaching jobs of their own. While I'd love a nice relaxing Super Bowl blowout win I don't expect it to happen. It wouldn't shock me if the Pats were able to win by double digits, but that's not historically how Patriots Super Bowl's go. They also are still are looking for their first first quarter points in a Super Bowl. They've been shutout in the first quarter in their previous seven tries. Despite statistically being "good" I don't believe in the Pats defense. That makes anything possible. I do think the Eagles running game and defense is going to give the Patriots trouble, but I'm not worried about the Pats ability to score. `I think Gronk is due for a huge game, the Eagles don't have anybody who can match up with him. As long as he's healthy (which is never a guarantee) he can dominate. But to me the story of this game is all about the Patriots defense. Can they handle the Eagles RPOs? The Eagles have a nice set of running backs that all have different skill sets that can give the Patriot defense fits. Zach Ertz is a problem, but Patrick Chung has been incredible at stopping opposing tight ends. If Patricia can find a way to make Nick Foles look like the Nick Foles from St. Louis then I think the Patriots will be just fine. I just don't know if that's going to be possible with their current personnel on the defensive side of the ball. All that being said, I know it's a team game but I just don't see a way Nick Foles leads a team to a Super Bowl victory. I don't care how it happens, as long as the Patriots win I'm happy. They've almost ruined football in the sense that it's hard to enjoy other games when so much is predicated on the Super Bowl. While Super Bowls 49 and 51 without a doubt shaved a decade off my life from the stress, they also made the victories that much sweeter given the circumstances in how they won. Despite all the success the Patriots have had, I do think this could be the last Tom Brady Super Bowl, or at the very least we should realize it could be. He's going to be awarded league MVP tonight, but he is 40, you never know when he is going to quote "fall off the cliff". I just know I'm going to soak this one in because who knows how much longer this run can go on? If the Patriots win he's probably their MVP, but if I had to pick a non-QB to win it for the Pats I'd go with James White. All the dude does is score playoff touchdowns. This blog has taken way too long, and is going to be read by a dozen people so I guess I'll stop here. I'm saying Patriots win 27-20. MVP Tom Brady. Philly burns down. The greatest dynasty in the history of sports continues.
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Song: Hey Mama Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Album: Tearing at the Seams 2nd song released off the band's sophomore effort, I cannot wait for this album to come out.
Today at a sentencing heading of first ballot scumbag hall of famer Larry Nassar a true tragedy took place when the bailiffs stopped a father of MULTIPLE victims from attacking Nassar in the courtroom.
Randall Margraves. a father of THREE of the victims, first asked the judge if could have five minutes in a room with Nassar as part of his punishment. Given what he's guilty of I think that seems fair. The courtroom kind of broke into laughter which is odd considering this is a sexual assault case, like there was a zero percentage chance he was joking (as we'll see very shortly). When the judge said she couldn't allow it, Margraves tried a little bargaining. Can't knock the hustle. My mom always says you'll never know until you ask. Maybe the judge could've been like, okay fuck it you got 60 seconds starting now as she pulls out an egg timer she has saved for years for a moment just like this. If this was Pawn Stars I feel like she would've had to take the deal. he asked for five but went all the way down to one. That's great value, it went down 80%. When she again said that wasn't allowed, Randy took things into his own hands, just like I did assuming he goes by Randy.
While part of me wants to blame Randy for showing his hand before he went all in, I can't get too upset at a dad wanting to fuck up a dude who molested three of his kids. I just feel like the element of surprise in this situation would've had better odds of working out. As soon asked for the five minutes with Nassar I bet the bailiffs got in athletic tackling stances ready to get their target.
What truly sucks is that the bailiffs got to him before he got to take a swing at Nassar. We can't let Randy get a single lick in? Come on man! I get it that we don't want to start setting that precedent in our nation's courtrooms, but if there's ever going to be a time to turn the other cheek it's right there. The bailiffs couldn't have all like pretends to sneeze for a second, and then go stop this guy after they say God Bless You? This story does have a relatively happy ending in that Randy Margraves is not going to get into any legal trouble.
Seems like a no-brainer to me, and I'm glad the judge used some wise judgment in this case. I'm sure there's a lot of ass hole by the book judges who would've gone after Randy. Even had he hit Nassar I feel like you shouldn't have any legal action against him.
Why are we protecting this monster Nassar? I feel like our justice system needs revamping. The families of victims should totally be allowed to do whatever they want to scum like this that who have no possibility of seeing outside of a jail cell. Criminals like Nassar should not be allowed to have rights or protection. I'm a huge capital punishment guy and think we need to go back to the days of not caring if these people died painlessly. Like if it were up to me Law Abiding Citizen would've been a 22 minute episode of TV. Cylde Shelton's family gets murdered, get off on a technicality, he meticulously chops up the dudes who killed his wife and daughter, then it's straight the the credits. Fuck wasting tons of tax payer dollars on lethal injection, go get a few guns at wal-mart like the criminals do and take these mother fuckers out. We all know Nassar is fucked the second he walks into prison, but when The Rock chimes in you know you're toast but it sure would've been nice for him to get a head start on the beatings he's going to receive in jail until he's inevitability murdered.
Song: Man of the Woods Artist: Justin Timberlake Album: Man of the Woods It's not terrible, but Jesus JT is seriously appropriating Lumberjack culture. SMH
Who would've guessed one of the biggest story lines of Super Bowl week would be the acceptance of father-son on the lips kisses?
Yet here we are. After the fbook documentary Tom vs. Time (a true must watch) showed Tom Brady and his son Jack locking lips multiple times just so he'd be allowed to check his fantasy team the hot button issue of whether or not the father-son mouth kiss is acceptable or not came to the forefront. It has caused quite the debate on social media.
I'm torn af here.
I get it that I'm not a parent so I don't "understand the bond between parent and child" but then again I am two different people's child so I do feel like I have a basic understand on the relationship. After my dad there is no man on this planet I love more than Tom Brady. Despite famously denying me an autograph from mere inches away when I was a child, in my eyes Tom Brady can do no wrong. I defended him to the death after Deflategate, I don't care that he's a crazy person who thinks tomatoes are too unhealthy, or that if you drink enough water you can't get a sunburn, but if we're being honest this might be where I draw the line with TB12. I'm not about to abandon ship and write off Brady altogether, that would be lunacy. We've been through so much together. He could be diddling kids and I'd probably make an excuse or two for his actions. I'm just saying this is a bizarre move. I'm not some hardo anti-affection guy either, I'm just not about kissing my dad on the lips. Especially not for an hour like Tom and Jack did. I'd say I have a better than average relationship with my father, if we weren't both two of the most awkward people on earth and could conversate I'd call it fantastic. We say I love you regularly unlike your classic 1940's father-son relationship were you wait until your dad is on his deathbed then you both finally admit that you love each other just moments before he flat lines. I'm all for showing love. Ole Dozo is affectionate AF. I'm all for showing your family that you love them, I'm not a monster. You wanna hug? Let's hug it out bitch. Cheek kiss greeting? Why I'd be offended if we didn't. You'll think we're two Italians back in the old country meeting for ravioli. Cheek kiss goodbye? Of course. Sure one more hug too for good measure. But father-son lip on lip? No sir! Strong pass. Honestly I'm anti any lip on lip contact between family members after a certain age. Idk what that age is but 11 is pretty close to it, if not passed it. I'm just being honest, I am weirded out by the father-son on the lips kiss. It just makes me uneasy. IMO the straight up, no tongue, lip kiss is reserved for like maybe babies, and your significant other. People will say don't sexualize it, but I'm just being honest, to me that's a move between people in love. I don't have a ton of experience with the lady folk, but in the handful of tinder nightmare meet ups I've had the straight up peck doesn't ever go down. I've broken beds, and been unable to perform, but never the straight up peck. It's make-out or gtfo (nbd). Like to me the Brady and son kiss is the kiss you give your wife goodbye before you go to work. "Love ya honey, **kiss**, walk out the door". It's not supposed to be used as payment to your dad to be able to check your fantasy team. I think the low key craziest part of the whole ordeal is how his dad isn't even his fantasy QB but he'll kiss his lips! How does that compute? Close enough to smooch but not draft your daddy? That ain't right. But I guess in his defense, if you watch the video, little Jack Brady almost immediately wipes his lips, so it's not like he wants to be there, it's all Tommy. Plus the whole "that was barely a peck" then having him comeback and kiss him on the lips for what felt like a full minute made my skin crawl. I've seen wedding kisses less passionate than that. All that being said, it's Tom Brady we're talking about. I'd do literally anything for the man. He's responsible for some of the happiest moments of my life. There's a great chance he's going to add to that legacy in a few days. If Cady Heron wearing Army Pants and Flip Flops can start a school wide trend then why can't Tom Brady make the father-son lip kiss normal again?
I'm not going to just flip from thinking it's weird to being a daddy-kisser over night, but if there was one person who could convince me either wise, it'd be Tom Brady. He's already done the impossible going from 199th overall draft pick to the greatest quarterback of all time, but if he can universalize the father-son lip on lip kiss well then my friend, that might just be the biggest accomplishment of Tom Brady's life.
What do you think on the matter?
via: www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/magazine/where-does-the-nfl-go-after-a-season-of-division.html
Blank needed to unburden himself of a minor beef with Kraft. It involved the aforementioned Super Bowl LI. After the Falcons blew a late 28-3 lead over the Patriots and lost in overtime, and “28-3” entered the lexicon of football taunts, Kraft ordered exactly 283 diamonds embedded into each of the 10-karat white gold Super Bowl rings he commissioned for the Patriots. Blank, who bought the Falcons in 2002, mostly took the loss and the attendant trolling in stride. But the ring stunt bothered him. He found it unnecessary and tacky. “I said to Robert, ‘You didn’t have to do the 28-3 in the ring,’” he told me recently. “It kind of pissed me off.”
I don't even know what that gif is from but it's extremely accurate.
With all due respect to Count Chocula aka Arthur Blank I'm going to disagree that Robert Kraft "didn't have to do the 28-3 in the ring" because Robert Kraft 100% had to have a shot at 28-3 on the Patriots Super Bowl ring. Had he not then he'd be being doing his players, coaches, family and fans a disservice. Accomplishing the greatest comeback (I know the Bills came back from 35-3 against Oilers in the playoffs, but with how much time was left and all the breaks they needed this was better) in NFL history is something rather noteworthy. Given that it happened in that little game called the Super Bowl it's probably going live on forever, as it will on the Patriots Super Bowl rings. If you want to be mad at someone, Artie, be mad at Kyle Shanahan for some of the worst play-calling and decision making in not just the history of sports, but all of mankind. It goes past football. Worse than Hitler invading Russia, worse than Prohibition, worse than Steve Carrell leaving The Office. It's like when Chris Rock said George Bush wasn't the worst United States President but any President in any setting (joke may have not aged great but was v funny in 2009). Artie, be mad Matt Ryan for fumbling when Dont'a Hightower blew Devonta Freeman up. Be mad at your entire offense for going from first and ten on the Patriots 22 yard line to punting when they could've just run 3 straight hand offs, milked the clock and attempted a relatively short field goal with a chance to seal the game even after the Patriots made a run. Or be mad that your defense couldn't make a single stop when spotted a 25 point lead. Don't be mad at Bob Kraft for celebrating the greatest single game comeback in the history of the NFL, that's really ugly of you, Mr. Blank. Be mad at your loser franchise for blowing it's best chance at a championship when it was nearly statistically impossible.
Only a loser franchise would recognize a meaningless sack record in a game they blew the biggest lead in Super Bowl history at their stadium. This is worse than the old 16-0 banner at Gillette (that I fucking HATED).
You're literally reminding your fans of 28-3 every time they step foot in your stadium, so don't give me this "he didn't have to do the 28-3 in the ring" shit because he (Mr. Kraft) most certainly did. When you start winning Super Bowls you can do whatever the fuck you want. Until then it's 28-3 forever.
P.S. While I'm on the subject of bad decision making s/o Pete Carroll ...... Happy Three Year Anniversary Malcolm :D :D :D Song: Fake Nice Artist: The Aces Album: When My Heart Felt Volcanic My girls are baaaaaaaaaaaack!
via: abcnews.go.com/Sports/justin-timberlake-son-play-football/story?id=52773767
Pop singer Justin Timberlake, speaking Thursday at an NFL news conference to promote his Super Bowl halftime performance, said that his son will never play football. Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel are the parents of 2-year-old Silas. After jokingly offering to suit up himself Sunday as a wide receiver if the New England Patriots needed him, Timberlake was asked by a reporter if he would "support it if [Silas] wanted to run some routes and get in the NFL." Timberlake responded: "Uh, he will never play football. No, no." He added: "I mean, yeah, it's kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person. And if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then yeah, I would fully support that. I think I can hopefully offer him some advice on what to do and what not to do, so yeah, but right now we're working on our manners. That's a big deal in our house right now. It's like, one thing at a time." Timberlake's comments came during a time of national conversation about the health and safety of youth football players. Earlier this month, a group of former NFL players teamed up with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to support a parent initiative that advocates for children to avoid football until the age of 14. Timberlake revealed that only his band, The Tennessee Kids, would join him onstage while dismissing any chance of his former boy band, 'N Sync, or Janet Jackson joining him for the performance. Timberlake is returning to the halftime show 14 years after the "wardrobe malfunction" with Jackson that caused a national controversy. He was not asked a question about the incident during the press availability. Timberlake was a special guest of Jackson during her performance when he ripped off a piece of her clothing and revealed her bare, pierced nipple. Jackson later described it as an unintended "wardrobe malfunction." "We're going to take it seriously that we want everyone to have a ton of fun. That's my main objective with the halftime show," he said. Timberlake, who turned 37 on Wednesday, will release his new album, "Man of the Woods," on Friday.
The internet was making a semi-big deal about Justin Timberlake saying that his son will never play football at his press conference today (in case you live under a rock he's performing at the Super Bowl halftime show).
The only thing is he didn't exactly rule out little Silas (such a celebrity's kid name) Timberlake playing football at some point in life. This article is a perfect example of context of written words vs video. If you just read that line "Uh, he will never play football. No, no." at first it's v logical to perceive that as "wow JT is one of these snowflake bitches who won't let their kids play football, how sad". But when you watch the actual video. It's clear that was a joke, just like his jab at the Eagles not having injuries, which I found subtly pretty funny coming from JT. Nice to see him keeping up with sports making fun of Wentz. Multiple news outlets are making it seem like Timberlake is giving the NFL a black eye for saying this before the NFL's biggest game of the year, which to me is quite a silly notion as he's clearly joking. I really liked his follow up. He had a pretty solid stock dad line about how he's not worried about what he wants to do, he just wants him to be a good person, and that he'll be supportive in whatever he does in his future. Which IMO is how all parents should be (unless your kid wants to root against your favorite teams, in which case it's totally okay to put them up for adoption). I straight up hope Justin Timberlake doesn't let his kids play football. Like the hippies who are trying to kill bottled water, I say #OneLess. As a former high school football player (I was once called a "key loss" to a 1-7 in my town's local newspaper NBD)
I think know a thing or two about playing the game.
TBH at times I am worried about the future of the game I love. I hate how they're trying to take violence out of football. News flash: Football is a violent sport! Football without violence is like sex without penetration. Sure there's things in both instances you can do to make things safer. But once you eliminate that you're no longer talking about the same activity. You can try to make it safer but it gets to a certain point where you have to realize that people get hurt playing football. As more and more information about head trauma comes out and people learn more about the dangers of football more parents are going to be more protective of their children. (Wow that was a lot of mores!)They may think playing football in school is simply not worth the potential dangers that come with the game. While part of me hates that narrative because I want people to keep my favorite sport going, deep down I truly believe that football will never die. For every upper-middle class elite that cares about whether or not that son has multiple concussions before his junior prom, there's going to be 10 kids down south that are going to use football as a path to college. Which is why I'm glad Timberlake said this, even though it was in jest. Good don't play football. One less kid my future son (if I ever somehow have kids, and am lucky enough to have a son) to compete against. It's all a numbers game. Thin that herd!
I hope more and more people don't let their kids play, maybe it'll give Dozo Jr. (just a place holding name) a shot.
Look I'm no fool, I know given my gene pool the chance my offspring is talented enough to get a scholarship or make the NFL are about the same chances that I'll win Powerball Saturday night, but there is technically a chance. The more and more people not allowing their kids to play just gives me a greater chance of fathering a pro athlete. I think I can speak for most guys that that's a dream of most men, to live there dreams vicariously through their child. Historically this works out well for all parties involved. So yeah JT, give your kid a saxophone or a soccer ball. While you might think one less kid doesn't make a difference, like a penny you find on the sidewalk they all add up. If 30 million more parents follow in Justin Timberlake's footsteps than I really love Dozo Jr's chances at getting drafted in around 2045. P.S. Who THE FUCK are the Tennessee Boys? Nobody wants to see them. Bring out JC, Lance, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirtpatrick, brother. |
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