Sports galvanizes people.  It brings us together.  It gives us hope.  It is a welcome distraction.  It brings us heroes.  It gives you something you can believe in.  And in no instance was this more true than in the case of the post-Katrina Saints.  In the wake of that disaster, the city turned to what was for a long time the only team in town.  A team that, like them, had been through hard times.  A team that they had stood by when times were tough.  And a team that they now needed to stand by them in their time of need.  That city needed something to be proud of.  Something to root for.  Something that it could celebrate.  People that it could look up to.  It needed underdogs-turned-heroes like Drew Brees, an injured castoff of a QB who signed with them for less money than other teams had offered because he felt that he could help the team and the city.  He has done both.  They needed people like Louisiana native Tracy Porter, who had a picture of the Louisiana Superdome shaved into his head the day before his game-clinching interception for a TD.  That was a symbol of New Orleans in its darkest days, a refugee shelter for its own fans, now being used as motivation for brighter days.  For healing.  For closure to a painful past.  For catharsis.

People can downplay the fact that a victory for a sports franchise can do much to heal a ravaged city.  But those people don’t understand what that team means to that town.  Or their stadium to the people who slept in it and now cheer in it.  Or those players to the people who they donate their time and money to.  Doubters don’t understand the need to believe in something bigger than yourself, or the need to be proud of where your from and how far you’ve come.  They don’t understand that when you have so little to feel good about, you cling to what little good you have left.  The Saints were that common good for New Orleans.  They were the one thing that survivors of that tragedy could put their hopes and dreams into, could look at with pride, could feel uplifted by, and finally feel good about themselves because the hope that they had clung to while their city was adrift has now come through for them when they needed it.  Celebrate, New Orleans, like only you know how.  You deserve it.  I have a feeling that this Mardi Gras is going to be the best yet.

The following pictures were taken by me 7 months after Katrina struck New Orleans.

This is a video of Bourbon Street after the Saints won the title:

Cardinals/Saints

Here’s all you need to know about this game:

Not the QB shootout I was hoping for.  The Cardinals couldn’t protect Warner, which kept him from getting the ball in the hands of his talented receivers. Meanwhile, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush put on a pretty good show.

Colts/Ravens

I’m pretty sure the Ravens thought they were playing Hot Potato and not football.  They threw 2 picks, fumbled twice… even Ed Reed fumbled.  “But wait,” you say, “Ed Reed is a safety, how did he fumble?”  Well, Ed Reed picked off Peyton Manning, returned it 38 yards, and then got stripped.  Thus is the creative variety of the Ravens’ turnovers on Saturday.  It’s never fun watching a game in which one of the teams keeps shooting themselves in the foot.

Vikings/Cowboys

The Cowboys have sore vaginas.  They claim that the Vikings were running up the score on them.  The Vikings won 34-3 after a late touchdown.  The previous two weeks, the Cowboys beat the Eagles 24-0 and 34-14 (after the Eagles scored a late touchdown to make the score look less pathetic).  Keith Brooking charged the sidelines at the end of the game and shouted at Vikings’ coach Brad Childress. “I thought it was classless,” Brooking said. “I thought it was B.S. Granted, we get paid to stop them, but…“  Well, there you have it.  You blow out a team twice in a row, including in the playoffs, then get blown out and cry about it.  Then you admit that you didn’t do your job in stopping them and that’s why they beat the shit out of you.  Then you say “but” acknowledging that you’re being a hypocrite and a crybaby while simultaneously trying to justify it.  No, Keith Brooking, they aren’t classless.  They were competing with integrity.  They were playing hard til the end.  That’s what you’re taught to do in every game of every sport since you were in elementary school.  I’ll let the Vikings’ Visanthe Shiancoe, who scored the late TD, have the last word.  “Ok, we apologize.  I’m sorry.  Better?”

Jets/Chargers

This was the only good game of the bunch, though I’m sure several thousand idiots out there are complaining about the low score.  It featured a scoreless tie at the end of the 1st quarter, with both defenses dominating early (though the Jets’ uncreative offensive play-calling is probably to blame for their lack of a first down through their first 3 or 4 possessions).  Then the Chargers took control for most of the game, until the Jets fortunes were turned around starting with two interceptions, including this impossible grab by Darrelle Revis:

After that, the Jets scored two TDs in the 4th on a bootleg pass from Mark “Dirty” Sanchez and a breakaway 53 yard run by Shonn Greene.  The only downside to this game was the three missed field goals by Chargers’ kicker Nate Kaeding, which would have given them at least a tie and at most a win.  But despite that, this was a hard-fought close game from start to finish.  That’s about the least these teams could give us after watching the three previous ass beatings.

I was rooting for his team to make history. Now I will actively root against his bad example to sportsmanship.

Everyone knows what went down on Sunday.  The Colts had a legitimate chance to go 15-0 heading into the last week of the season and make a run at an undefeated season, and their coach went and pulled his starters in the 3rd quarter, thus forfeiting the game to the Jets.  Everything about that is just wrong.  Not “wrong” as in a poor coaching decision, but wrong as in morally corrupt.

First, giving a game to the Jets has serious playoff implications.  Since a loss would have knocked them out of the playoff picture, their win drastically changed the playoff picture and will likely allow them to play in the post season as opposed to a superior team like the Broncos or Steelers.  If I were one of those teams, I would sue Jim Caldwell for the loss in revenue over the (at least one) game that they are missing out on.  Throwing a game that shifts the balance of the playoffs is an affront to the spirit of competition, plain and simple.

Secondly, he says that he pulled them to preserve their health; that keeping them fresh for the playoffs is his main concern.  I would like to remind him, and anyone else who doesn’t remember, that the only time the Colts have won the Super Bowl this decade despite their amazing record ever year is the one season when they didn’t rest their players.  In 2006 they had to fight for home field advantage until the end, the result being that their players were focused and on point as opposed to being rusty from being benched for the last few weeks of the season before their playoff bye.  In fact, their are numerous examples of that happening throughout NFL history (the ‘97 and ‘98 Broncos, etc.).  So Jim, going by history what you just did hurt your chances to win in the playoffs.

He also hinted at wanting to keep his players from the distracting questions that go along with maintaining an undefeated season.  Now, THAT, my friends, is the work of a giant wuss.  He’s more worried about coddling his players (who are adults and professionals) than he was excited at the prospect of making history.  He folded from the pressure BEFORE the pressure could even be applied.  He crumpled under the weight of lofty expectations before the burden had even been hoisted onto his team’s shoulders.  Also, it shows that he has little faith in his players’ mental fortitude and ability to block out distractions.  If I were a Colts player, and I’m sure many are thinking this, I would have lost all respect for him right then and there.  I wouldn’t want to play for someone who is governed by his fears, who plays the game scared.

Maybe they’ll win the Super Bowl, and much of the criticism will die down, but not from me.  For me, Jim Caldwell will always be a coward.

Eye candy

Jets/Dolphins

Wildcat wildcat wildcat wildcat wildcat.  I thought this was going to be a trend in football that died out quickly, like the spread offense.  I was wrong, at least when it comes to the team that invented it.  And apparently Chad Henne is a genuine QB prospect, though the Fins also worked in Pat White in the 4th quarter. The Dolphins are now on their 85th and 86th QBs since Dan Marino.  Serious Eye Candy

Browns/Bills

I would like to apologize to JaMarcus Russell for calling him the worst player in the NFL, because Derek Anderson just went 2 for 17 against the Bills.  Good thing you took Brady Quinn out, Mangini. The final score was 2 field goals to one field goal.  This game was ugly.  Lindasy Lohan ugly.  Eye Rape

Steelers/Lions

The Steelers are NOT repeating this year.  In fact, they’re not even good.  They beat the Lions by one score a week after my Bears doubled them in points and hung 48 on them.  I doubt they’re even making the playoffs this year in their tough division.  And the Lions were missing their starting QB.  If Matt Millen were still running them, do

Eye rape

you think he would have drafted Crabtree, Heyward-Bey, Maclin, or Harvin over Stafford?  That’s a rhetoric question.  He definitely would have.  Eye Rape

Cowboys/Chiefs

The Cowboys are terrible.  They’re not a playoff team.  The Chiefs almost beat them.  The Chiefs lost to the Raiders.  And the Cowboys needed a miracle play in OT to beat them.  That said, Matt Cassel looks like he’s for real.  Tony Romo looks horrible.  As an aside, welcome to the NFL, Miles Austin.  We’ll be seeing more of you I’m sure.  Eye Candy

Vikings/Rams

One team is 5-0, the other is 0-5.  So again, I have to ask: are the Rams the worst team in the NFL, or the least good team in the NFL?  Also, will we have a second straight year with a team going 0-16?  Maybe Steve Spagnuolo should have stayed with the Giants.  Eye Rape

Giants/Raiders

I was actually at this game… for the first half.  That’s how non-competitive this game was.  Sadly, even though I left at halftime, Eli Manning left before then, as in: the backups were already playing before the end of the second quarter.   At one point, the Giants had scored touchdowns on each of their first 4 possessions, and the Raiders didn’t have a single first down in any of their first four possessions.  That’s how big the gap is between a contender and what should be considered the NFL’s first minor league team.  Brutal Eye Rape

Buccaneers/Eagles

Another 0-5 team.  I think the Eagles D took the day off.  How else do you explain two TDs by Kellen Winslow, Jr.?  Eye Rape

Outrageously Racist Team Name from DC that I Refuse to Type/Panthers

This game was close, but only because both teams suck my left nut (not the right one, I’m saving that one for marriage).  Yes, it featured a huge comeback by the Panthers, but I would chalk that up more to DC’s incompetence than to anything that Jake Delhomme and company did.  These teams will be fighting for draft slots in a month.  Eye Rape

Bengals/Ravens

This was a great game.  It featured a last second touchdown, an Ed Reed pick-6, and lots of Eightfive (I don’t speak Spanish).  It also featured Ray Lewis taking Eightyfive’s helmet off on a viscious illegal hit, though Eightfive wasn’t hurt on the play and even got in Lewis’ face afterward.  Definite Eye Candy

Falcons/49ers

Mike Singletary needs to drop trou again.  His team played like the embarrassing  49ers of the last few years, not the inspired team we’ve seen so far this year.  Given, Frank Gore was still out with an injury, but still…  Their performance can best be exemplified by Dre Bly, who picked off Matt Ryan and thought he had an easy 80 yard return, so he started showboating as soon as he caught it.  But instead, Roddy White caught up to him, quickly, and knocked the ball away from him before a fellow Falcon recovered it.  Singletary sent Vernon Davis to the showers mid-game last year for half-assing it.  I will be surprised and confused if Dre Bly is allowed to play next week.  Vicious Eye Rape

Jaguars/Seahawks

Jack Del Rio is already fired.  I’m just waiting for the official press release.  The Seahawks are a terrible team.  They have TWO good players on offense.  That’s it.  And they hung 41 points on the Jags.  And Del Rio is supposed to be a defensive coach.  Also, I genuinely don’t understand how you get shut out in an NFL game.  Not even a field goal?  Really?  Seriously, Jags?  Eye Rape with a Sharp Object

Texans/Cardinals

This was another game that featured a furious second half comeback, and it also featured a goal-line stand to end the game.  The Texans came out from halftime and made up for their first half ineptitude by pulling within one touchdown.  They just missed sending the game into overtime, but were stuffed on the one yard line by the Cardinals D.  That’s got to be one of the most exciting ways to win for the home crowd.  Major Eye Candy

Patriots/Broncos

It’s weird how Belichick’s protegees always beat him in their first meeting (aside from Romeo Crennel, who wasn’t really a coach and didn’t run a real team).  I guess this means that Belichick will beat them in the playoffs like he did Mangini?  This one featured another double-digit come back, and went into OT where it was one by a field goal to push the Broncos to 5-0.  Tremendous Eye Candy

Colts/Titans

When Vince Young put out that statement this summer that he would take back the starting QB job and eventually win a Super Bowl, we all laughed.  Well, I’m not laughing anymore and neither should you.  He’ll definitely be a starter before the end of the year.  And with Jeff Fisher’s ability to put together a winner, this season aside, he might have a shot at a title down the line (especially with the draft picks they’re going to get in the next two years).  Also, Peyton Manning is good at quarterbacking.  Eye Rape

And there you have it folks.  It was a pretty even week as far as watchable/unwatchable games were concerned.  And the watchable ones were pretty damn good.  Plus, I was lucky enough to see in person the difference between an NFL team that will contend for a title this year and one that will contend for the first pick in the draft.  They always talk about parity in this league, why does no onw ever point out the MASSIVE difference between the best and worst teams?

"Boo hoo. I'm so sad to be leaving the Packers... So I can play for their rivals, even if I have to wait a full season in between."

Brett Favre has changed his mind for the 15th time, and has accepted a contract with the Vikings. “But wait,” you say, “I thought he had decided once and for all to stay retired and live in bumblefuck Mississippi.”  Well, dear reader, you clearly underestimated Brett Favre’s drive to compete, his need to feed his massive ego no matter what the cost, and his desire to kill his team with interceptions in key situations.

Now, most people say that I hate Brett Favre unfairly.  That’s true in the respect that, as a Bears fan, I truely hate the Packers.  And that guy usued to torture us in the 90s.  I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t beat them for 3 straight years at one point.  I was also at the Monday Night Football game where we had him pinned on the one yard line, only to have him throw a quick slant to Robert Brooks that Brooks took to the house for the longest pass in NFL history.  The only thing redeeming about that game was the greatest catch in Bears history (note: it wasn’t made by a player).

But the real reason I hate Brett Favre is because everyone blows so much smoke up his ass.  Every Monday Night Football was dominated by John Madden basically sucking Favre’s dick on air.  “Oh, Brett Favre.  Look at how strong his arm is.  That throw can’t be made by other players, but Brett Favre can do it.  Look at how much fun he has.  Nobody has more fun than Brett Favre.  Nobody’s tougher than Brett Favre.  I heard that rainbows shoot out of his dick, and that he shits unicorns.  Oh, Brett…”

"Oh no! My team lost beacuse I threw a pick. Oh well, back to "gunslinging."

It’s infuriating.  In his last 4-5 years, he’s had one good season, which ended with him throwing a pick to end their playoff run.  And that would have been a fitting way for him to end his career, simply because it’s his most defining characteristic.  Brett Favre led the league in INTs last year with the Jets.  If you’re thinking, “Well he’s older and he broke down towards the end,” then you don’t know Brett Favre.  He’s the career leader in interceptions for a reason.  He’s led the league in picks 3 times, finished second 3 times, and was in the top ten every year of his career.  And the reason I say his pick to the Giants would have been a fitting end to his career, is that he is also the career leader in playoff picks, including a record 6 in one game.  Several of those picks, just like in ‘07, ended the Packers’ playoff run.  You guys can have your “gunslinger” flinging the ball around with reckless abandon, I’ll take a guy who takes care of the ball over that any day.  I don’t want a leader who goes all-in on every throw and gets burned just as much as he comes through.  It’s a huge rush to watch, but it’s still a guy taking stupid risks needlessly.

Tearfull Press Conference Number 1: I love pain killers! They make me feel great! Can't play without 'em! But, you know, you guys should pitty me and then completely forget about this in a few years."

Favre won 3 MVPs in a row and broke the record for consecutive games played, both impressive feats, until you remember that he did so while taking PEDs.  During his MVP years Favre was addicted to painkillers.  He admitted as much in a tearful press conference, something that would become common in later years with Favre.  Would he have been able to play through all of those injuries and through all that pain without those painkillers?  Of course not.  That’s just as much of a PED as anything else.  He never would have broken the consecutive games streak without them.  They were propping him up throughout it all.  I’m not saying that he would have been terrible without them, I’m just saying that he wouldn’t have that record, and his star would be significantly diminished without it.

I wouldn’t hate Favre nearly as much as I do if everyone else would just acknowledge these things.  But instead they completely ignore them and only focus on the “fun” that he has on the field and his records (but not the one for interceptions, and not the asterisk that should be on his consecutive games streak).  In the end, I would put Favre in the top 10 QBs of the modern era, but no higher.  Just off the top of my head, here’s the list:

1. Joe Montana
2. John Elway
3. Dan Marino
4. Tom Brady
5. Peyton Manning
6. Steve Young
7. Johnny Unitas
8. Brett Favre
9. Dan Fouts
10. Fran Tarkenton