Tebow: Making the Case for MVP.

Yeah, he lost yesterday to a much better Patriots team, but that still makes him 7-2 as a starter this season.  The Broncos record before Tebow took over as starting Quarterback?  1-4, and they looked out of the playoff picture going into their Week 6 Bye Week.  He (and the re-energized Defense) have now put the Broncos in 1st place in their division.   That's right, 1-4 all the way to a Home Playoff Game.  Sure, there are still a few weeks left in the season, and as of right now, any team in the West is mathematically still able to win that division, but lets assume the Broncos win out, finish 10-6 and get a home playoff game against the Jets or Titans.

They win that game, go on to face the Pats or Steelers in the next round, maybe win, maybe lose.  Either way, this team was destined for a losing season and a high draft pick.  Instead, they implant Tim Tebow during their Bye Week and end up in the second round of the playoffs.

So how do you not put this kid on your MVP Ballots?  Stats aside, he has clearly been incredibly valuable to his team.  Improbable comeback wins, bringing excitement to the stadium and locker room, and, most importantly, taking a team going nowhere to a playoff berth.

Obviously Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are the favorites to win the award at this point, and you could argue that those teams (Saints, Patroits and Packers) would all be much worse without their star QB's, but would they be 1-4 bad?  Would they be 2-8 bad?  Would they be 3-12 bad?

I'm not saying he should WIN the award, his stats just don't back that up, but he should probably be in the Top 5 in MVP votes, maybe even the top 3.  I also don't think any of this will happen, because most MVP voters (in all sports) are too conventional and set in their ways.  It will be the 5 guys with the best stats, guy with the best stats wins.  It will have nothing to do with who is actually valuable to their team, like Tim Tebow.

An Incredibly Tough Choice.

Let me preface by saying that I will not be a fan of the new team(s) in Los Angeles if its the Raiders or Rams. Ok, moving on...

Recently, plans were announced to start building Farmers Field in Downtown Los Angeles right next to Staples Center (where the Clippers, Kings and Lakers play), and construction would begin as soon as the league put the wheels in motion towards putting a new team in Los Angeles. This was both great news and terrible news, all at the same time.

On one hand, it would fantastic to have a local team to be able to actually see NFL games in person (Yeah, I could go down to San Diego, but there is a 100% chance I'd have to see a Chargers game, and that sounds awful), I'd have a team that I know would be on TV every week, and that I could find merchandise for very easily. (Well, in theory. The Clippers play in LA, but have you ever gone looking for a Clippers shirt? Impossible).

However, there is the tiny fact that I'm a die hard Jets fan. I love the Jets. I love Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan, and the whole gang (except for Jason Taylor... screw him). I own Jets Jerseys, I have Jets blankets and sweaters. I get the feeling I'll be a Jets fan till I die. Its very unlikely the Jets will be the team moving to LA.

Thus, my dilemma. I'd love to root for the local team, go crazy for them in person and at bars. I'd love to strut around town in an LA Football Jersey (that isn't from the AFL, USFL or XFL, Go LA Xtreme!). But do I turn my back on my beloved Jets? OR, do I become that douche who puts it all in for more than one team per sport? Don't get me wrong, I will cheer for other teams in games/seasons where my team isn't in it... but this is on a totally different level.

I've got a few years to decide, and who knows, the Jets COULD pack their bags and head west, but that seems like an incredibly unlikely scenario. Until then, I've just got this awful decision hanging over my head.


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Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't post anything that wasn't Angels Baseball anymore, but my other blog fell flat on its face, and I wanted my loyal readers to know I wasn't dead. Besides, the Angels haven't done anything since they traded for Vernon Wells (Which has not yet been confirmed to be a big April Fools prank, more on that April 2nd). Oh well, Pitchers and Catchers report in a week and a half.

Giants Shock Phillies While Bret Favre Struggles.

What a sports weekend.

Saturday, the Number One Ranked Team in College Football loses for the 3rd week in a row (Oklahoma upset by Missouri), and the Giants pull off the biggest NLCS upset in my lifetime.

The Phillies had the Pitching, the Hitting, and the Defense. The Giants really only had the Pitching. The Phillies have about 5 Future Hall-of-Famers, the Giants would be lucky to have more than one. The Phillies had home-field advantage, oh, and the guy who two weeks ago, threw only the second no-hitter in the history of postseason baseball.

The Phillies were EVERYONES pick. I'm pretty sure that before game one, even bay-area papers were selling the Giants. Even when the Giants went up 3-1, there were still experts and analysts who said the Phillies would come back and win the series. But the Giants pushed through all the adversity, including having a less talented team, and won the NL Pennant. Its just the fourth time since moving to San Francisco, and the first time since 2002, when they lost to the Angels.

They have another tough opponent in the Texas Rangers waiting for them in the World Series, but for right now, the little team that could continues to celebrate.

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After an amazing Saturday, there was no way Sunday could be any better, except it almost was.

Many of the televised football games went to the last minutes of action, one between the Ravens and Bills (thats right, the now 0-6 Bills) went to Overtime.

The Dolphins lost to the Steelers on a botched call by the officials, the Chargers fell to the Patriots by way of a missed field-goal that would have tied the game.

But maybe the most heartbreaking defeat was by the Minnesota Vikings and Bret Favre. Favre had a regular Bret Favre game. He threw three interceptions, but still kept Minnesota in the game, even on a gimpy leg. However, when Bret Favre threw the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left on the clock, it was reversed by instant replay. Clearly, the receiver, Percy Harvin, had his foot out of bounds, so it wasn't a catch, but ten years ago, before instant replay, that's the go-ahead touchdown and Bret Favre is the hero today, and not the goat.

I'm 100% behind instant replay, and especially in this case, where the evidence was pretty clear, and the right team won because of it. But you have got to feel for a guy who, 10 years ago, would have been a hero in this game. Instead, he will be ridiculed by the media, be begged to retire by the fans, and why? Because he threw 3 picks and had a passer rating (maybe the dumbest stat in all of professional sports) of 50?

Bret Favre will always either be praised or hated. There is no middle ground. Either he won the game, or he lost it. In Minnesota or around the country, it doesn't matter. Its unfortunate that for the next week, he will be a pariah in Vikings Country, because without him, the Vikings lose last night, not by 4, but by 20.

At Least We Aren't The Dallas Cowboys.

"America's Team" lost again yesterday to the Chicago Bears to start the season 0-2. Right now, under head coach Wade Phillips, they look more like Cowgirls than anything (and even that might be underestimating Cowgirls).

The Angels, however, beat the Tampa Bay Rays again to win the weekend series. They almost look like a real baseball team again. They were one Fernando Rodney Saturday blow-up from sweeping the second best team in baseball.

The Angels days are still numbered, however, as the Rangers won a game this weekend to bring the elimination number down to 4. The Rangers are in town for the next three games. By tomorrow night the Angels could officially be out of the race. Conversely, by the end of Wednesday, the Angels could be only 7.5 back with 10 to play (11 for Texas).

It would be the worst late-season collapse in Major League history, but its very unlikely. The Angels are still trying to find their identity, while the Rangers are playing for their first postseason in ten years.

Although, if the Angels can do the unthinkable and find themselves 3 or 4 games back of Texas when they start their final series of the season in Arlington, it would make for some damn interesting games.

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Speaking of the Cowboys, Kim Kardashian recently broke up with Cowboys Wide Receiver Miles Austin (again). Its pretty clear that Austin needs to step his game up. At this time last season, Kim's old beau Reggie Bush was 2-0...

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Angels Elimination Number: 4
Carl Crawford Countdown: 83 Days

Angels Get Nice Win; NFL Season Kicks Off

Although the Angels are still 9.5 games out of first place, and the Rangers magic number is down to 14, the Angels got a really big win last night, outlasting the Cleveland Indians in 16 innings. After a Torii Hunter double led off the inning, Callaspo moved him the third which set up the sac fly by Jeff Mathis to win the game.

The Angels still only had 6 hits in 16 innings, and their offense looks as abysmal as ever, but wins like this could propel them back into second place, and help finish the season with a winning record. Also, Peter Borjous hit his third major league Home Run last night. I cant wait to see what this kid can do in a 162-game season with major league time under his belt.

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The NFL Season Kicks off tonight with the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints vs. the Minnesota Vikings (the team the Saints beat in the NFC Championship game to get to the Super Bowl).

I'd like to take this time to just throw out a few predictions for the upcoming NFL Season, and get some of you used to seeing football on here a bit more.

Playoff Teams:
NFC: Cowboys, Vikings, Saints, 49ers, Eagles and Packers.
AFC: Jets, Bengals, Colts, Raiders, Patriots and Steelers

NFC Championship: New Orleans Saints defeat Dallas Cowboys
AFC Championship: New York Jets defeat Indianapolis Colts
Super Bowl: New York Jets defeat New Orleans Saints

Yeah, its a homer pick, but part of the charm of the upcoming NFL Season is that no team is really a clear favorite. Every team has a number of weaknesses, and I think the Jets have the fewest weaknesses (even fewer is Mark Sanchez finally comes into his own as a great NFL QB).

Oh, and to be super cool, lets go ahead and add an NFL prediction section to this blog.

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Texas Rangers Magic Number (to Eliminate the Angels): 14
Carl Crawford Countdown: 94

NFL Opening Day Prediciton (Record: 0-0):
Saints defeat Vikings