February 6th update

Giants Nick(s) Patriots in Thrilling Game

• The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in a game that met most expectations laid upon it. Eli Manning cemented his place amongst the elite quarterbacks by winning his second Super Bowl MVP trophy while completing 30 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks had dreamlike game, with 10 catches for 109 yards, while Victor Cruz and Ahmad Bradshaw each scored a touchdown.
• The game got off to an interesting start after the Patriots were called for a penalty in their own end zone on their first offensive play, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. Still, the Patriots stormed back and were in front for the entire second half, except for the final 57 seconds. Bradshaw’s touchdown with 57 seconds to go in the game gave the Giants the lead for good, even though the Patriots had a chance to win the game with a last ditch hail mary that just missed.
• This is the 4th Super Bowl for the Giants franchise, and the second for Manning and his head coach Tom Coughlin. After 12 games the Giants were 6-6, winning 3 of their remaining 4 games, the Giants entered the playoffs on a hot streak. They rode that streak all the way through the playoffs and can now once again call themselves Super Bowl champions.


Super Similarities

• There were remarkable similarities between this year's Giants team and the Giants team that won it all in 2007. It's pretty remarkable when you look at some of these coincidences, check them out:

- In December 2007 the Giants lost 38-35 to the undefeated Patriots in the regular season and in December 2011 they lost 38-35 to the undefeated Packers in the regular season.
- In 2007 they lost 22-10 to the Redskins in Week 15 and in 2011 they lost 23-10 against the Redskins in Week 15.
- In 2007 they defeated the #1 seed Cowboys in the Divisional Playoff Round and in 2011 they defeated the #1 seed Packers in the Divisional Playoff Round.
- In 2007 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed Packers and in 2011 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed 49ers.
- The defining play of the 2007 Super Bowl was a 32 yard catch by David Tyree in the 4th quarter and the defining play of the 2011 Super Bowl was a 38 yard catch by Mario Manningham in the 4th quarter.
- In 2007 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 3 and Eli Manning was the MVP. In 2011 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 4 and Eli Manning was the MVP.
- In 2007, the Giants stopped the Patriots 18 game winning streak in the Super Bowl and in 2011 the Giants stopped the Patriots 10 game winning streak in the Super Bowl. On a side note, the Giants stopped the Patriots 20 game home winning streak in November of 2011.


Doleman, Roaf lead 2012 HOF class

• Since this weekend has pretty much been dominated by football, we might as well stick with the theme right?? On Saturday the NFL announced its 2012 Hall of Fame inductees who are as follows:
• Chris Doleman: Defensive End
• Willie Roaf: Offensive Tackle
• Curtis Martin: Running Back
• Dermontti Dawson: Center
• Cortez Kennedy: Defensive Tackle
• Jack Butler: Cornerback

• Doleman was one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, his 150.5 sacks are 4th on the all-time list. He was named to 8 Pro Bowls in his 15 year career and was named to the 1990's all decade team.
• Roaf, who played for the Saints and Chiefs is considered by many to be one of the top 5 offensive tackles of all time and helped pave the way for Priest Holmes' record setting 27 touchdowns in 2003.
• Martin was a workhorse, piling up terrific stats with the Patriots and Jets. He had:

• 3,518 career rushing attempts (3rd all-time)
• 14,101 career rushing yards (4th all-time)
• 17,430 career yards from scrimmage (7th all-time)
• 90 career rushing touchdowns (12th all-time)
• 100 career rushing/receiving touchdowns (19th all-time)
• Was also the oldest player to win a rushing title (age 31) in 2004

• Dawson, Kennedy and Butler also had terrific careers but Roaf, Doleman and Martin will probably be the ones you'll hear the most about.

February 3rd update

Super Bowl weekend is here

• After a summer-stealing lockout, 17 weeks of regular season games, and 4 weeks of the postseason the 46th Super Bowl is finally here. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will take the field at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis.
• The Patriots, who are slight favorites, will rely on their high powered offense to defeat the Giants. Led by Quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots will try to avoid the dangerous pass rush of the Giants defensive line. Gronkowski is currently nursing a high ankle sprain but is expected to play. His health status will play a huge role in how this game turns out.
• The Giants will rely on a devastating pass rush to get to Brady. Their chances to win the game will hinge largely on whether Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the gang can harrass Brady. Additionally, Giants quarterback Eli Manning will look to cement his claims made in the preseason that he should be considered an elite quarterback along with Brady. Eli will be looking to take score early and often against the Pats, who feature a wide receiver (Julian Edelman) playing defense.

Sportico’s Predictions
• Anirudh: This game will be won and lost depending on if the Giants defensive line can get to Tom Brady. The Giants offense should be able to score a lot of points against the Patriots patchwork defense, so the ability of the Patriots offense to keep up should determine the game. I do not believe the Patriots will be able to contain the Giants defense, and this will be a repeat of Sl.uper Bowl 42. Giants 38 – Patriots 31.
• Alex: The Patriots are too good to lose to this team again and Bill Belicheck will do the right things at the right time to give his team the edge (he even gave his team a break during practice to simulate halftime. Whether or not the team was forced to listen to Madonna during that break is uncertain). Brady will outduel Eli, who's had a great season but just isn't on Brady's level. Patriots 27 – Giants 17.


NBA names All-Stars

• Less than a week after the NHL and NFL had their All-Star games, the NBA (who was obviously feeling left out) named their All-Star starters on Thursday.
• L.A. will get 4 starters as Chris Paul will and Blake Griffin of the Clippers will join Lakers Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Kevin Durant takes the other spot. In the East, leading vote-getter and de facto host Dwight Howard (The game is being played in Orlando, the first time an Eastern conference team has hosted the game since 2003) will be joined by Miami Heat duo Dwayne Wade and Lebron James as well reigning MVP Derrick Rose and Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.
• The always entertaining game which features dunks-a-plenty and only the occasional lick of defense will be played on February 26th. The Dunk Contest, which many people look forward to more than the game, will be held on February 25th at 8:30. Odds are no one will attempt a car over a parked vehicle (as Blake Griffin did last year) but it should be great nonetheless. The above link will show the participants as soon as they are announced, although they have not been as of the writing of this article.
• Last year Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant combined for 71 points en route to a 148-143 West win and MVP honors for Bryant.