Inspiration: Heather and Troy

Watching the Steelers-Titans opening NFL game of the year and saw this on twitter at the 1/2. Very inspirational. A reminder to all of us to enjoy each day we are given and to try to make our lives here together the best we can.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Texans play tonight

Go Texans!

I heart the NFL Network

EVERY FREAKING PRESEASON game on NFL Network. I'm in football nirvana.

Some thoughts...

I like the 49ers new (old version) uniforms.
Kyle Orton SUCKS
The Jets looked better than I thought they would with a rookie QB (Sanchez)
I'm getting Madden 10 for free - SI TV Offer.com
I can't wait to watch the Texans tomorrow night!

Cutler Traded to Chicago

This is stunning...


One of the biggest trades I can ever remember in the NFL, which is not known for trades. Broncos get three draft choices (2 first rounders) and a QB (Kyle Orton, formerly the Bears starter). But, Da Bears get a Pro-Bowl QB.

This effects me because I have Cutler on my keeper fantasy team. So I am holding my breath a bit. I get nervous seeing a QB that looked like an awesome keeper for years and suddenly things are up in the air. He is moving to a very weak QB division. This just might put the Bears over the top? Only time will tell.

What do you think?

Texans addressing needs

The Texans had a nice weekend. Pulled in two players that are need positions - DE and Backup QB. After trading away Sage Rosenfels for a 4th rounder to the Vikes, the Texans signed Dan Orlovsky from Detroit today. He is 6'5" 230 lbs and played a lot last year for the crappy Lions. I'd have rather seen them bring in a kid with upside than some vet with no legs left.

But, the big news of the weekend is Antonio Smith. The defensive end from the Super Bowl Cards is quite a player. It's going to be great seeing him come off the edge opposite Mario Williams.

I've read two draft experts claim that the Texans would draft a DE or a QB in the first round this year. Obviously that has changed. I would love to see them get a great corner or safety. We'll see. The draft is only a month and a 1/2 away.

Mario Williams - ESPN Cover Shoot

One Day Weekend

I watched 4 football games very quickly this weekend. On Saturday I was at school from 7am to 5pm for an AVID training. So when I got home I had the Packer win and the Pats win to watch, but little time to do it in. I zipped through the beautiful Labeau snow game in quick fashion. It is amazing how many commercials air during these games! When they are TiVo'd it's a snap to fast forward between plays and commercials.

Brett Favre was amazing as usual. That stumbling-flip play was just vintage Favre.

In the night game, I was rooting for the Jags. I watched that game this morning - also in record time. I thought it would be neat to see the Jags and Colts in the championship game because it would be an all AFC-South matchup. That didn't happen. The Pats were pretty strong.

Today both games surprised me. I was happy with both results because both games were so darn entertaining. The Chargers depth made all the difference. That team is very deep. Most people forget how talented Billy Volek is. He was very good for the Titans a few years ago. It's not like he took over for Rivers and "won" the game. But, he didn't do anything to lose it. Sproles, Turner, and Naanee were a combo that gave them everything LT would have given the Bolts alone. The real deal was the Charger D though. They came up big when they needed it.

And then there was Mr. Jessica Simpson! How sweet was it that the Cowboys were upset by the Giants. I am going to have a good deal of fun tomorrow with all my Cowboy-loving students that think the world revolves around Tony Romo. Maybe #9 shouldn't have been running around Mexico with Daisy Duke and instead might have spent some time watching film of the Giant secondary.

It will be cool to watch another game in Lambeau field next weekend! Thanks for choking Cowpokes.

Aren't the playoffs great?

Texans Land a "Phe"

1st Round Pick, Amobi Okoye is nicknamed "Phe" - short for Phenom. It's no wonder:

But most 19-year-olds haven't latched onto a Latin word he says speaks to his essence: invictus, or unconquered. Most aren't nicknamed Phe, short for phenom. And most don't have the chutzpah to put their career on par with that of their generation's premier prodigy. "LeBron was the old phenom, maybe I'm the new one," Okoye says. "We're going to go from King James to Phe." [quotes from this story in ESPNtheMag Huge for his Age]

His story is really something. He is now the youngest player ever to be drafted in the NFL. He was a high school freshman at age 12.

OKOYE WAS born in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. His mother, Edna, brought him to the school she worked at as a principal because she couldn't find a reliable baby-sitter. At 2, Okoye sat in a first-grade classroom, learning how to read. He picked up math and sciences quickly, too, and years later, he tested out of sixth grade. In 1999, Edna, Amobi and two older siblings immigrated to Huntsville, Ala., where his father, Augustine, had been living for two years. When Amobi was assigned to the eighth grade, he protested and, with his parents' support, argued that he had already completed all of his junior high requirements in Nigeria and therefore belonged in high school. After 12-year-old Okoye passed an aptitude test, he was given two weeks at Lee High to prove himself. Amobi interrupted one algebra class to show the teacher an easier way to solve an equation. He was allowed to stay.

Amazing. At Louisville he was indeed "Invictus"-like. He is a super pass rusher with a non-stop motor. As a "3" technique or inside defensive tackle, having the ability to get after the QB is a great bonus. He is very young and will grow a lot more. The Texans did a great job in landing him and they were shocked he was still there. They said that Amobi was their #1 player on the board on the defensive side of the ball and that they could not pass him up. I am glad they didn't! Great pick!

--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

Post Super Bowl Thoughts

+Peyton Manning should not have won the MVP. Why not give it to the two RBs for the Colts - CoMVP was the right call there. I like Peyton and everything, but dude is seriously a ROBOT. He shows about as much emotion as a frog. Sorry, but if I just showed every doubter in America for all of those years... I would be like, "Stick it!" Or at least be so excited I'd be in tears. But, he must have "ice water running through those veins."

+Phil Simms is retarded.

+Super Bowl Commercials were not very good, but I liked the Coke ads the best. By far. They were imaginative and eye catching. The video game one was really well done.

+Rex Grossman is a spazz.

+The Texans are the #2 team in the NFL (we were the last to beat the Colts)

+Thank God for TiVo. It enabled me to catch the opening KO Return for a TD because we were just coming home from shopping and barely missed it. I saw 7-0 Bears with 14:50 left in the quarter and I said, "Hester took it the distance, ALREADY!" I really thought the Bears special teams would be a big difference. But that was the only play that haunted the Colts.

+Rain Super Bowl was interesting. The back-to-back fumbles (twice) was unique. But, I wonder what things would have been like on a fair field for both teams. Would it have changed the outcome? Grossman was lost in the slop. He couldn't throw it downfield at all. The week before he zipped some great long passes in the cold.

+The better team won. "TEAM" being the key word. Those Colts aren't great individually (except for at WR and QB) but you add up their teamwork, coaching, and spirit and that makes a Champion.


TOP 5 WAYS YOU KNOW FOOTBALL SEASON IS FINALLY OVER!
1. Your husband starts thinking about taking down the Christmas lights
2. That big lump on your couch is gone
3. Your husband starts learning the names of the kids all over again
4. Your husband discovers new qualities of your life that he never noticed before... like your new boyfriend!
5. Your husband just found out you had a baby last month!
--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

NFL Championship Games = Predictions

Today's games should be great ones. I am going to get my presentation finished when Aidan naps and then be able to sit and watch both games. The pressure of putting together my presentation for Wednesday is getting to me a little bit. But, I think the material that I have put together - a photomovie with music and a powerpoint that explains our advisory program is pretty top notch. Hopefully my partner (a counselor) will agree and things will go smoothly.

I am anxious to finish the work and then move on to relax today and watch two great games.

Here's how I see it going down...

First game, Saints @ Bears:
The Saints offense is a lot better than the Bears offense. The Bears defense is a lot better than the Saints defense... but not lately. That's the difference. I think the Bear's D stumbles again in the playoffs. It's interesting to see how the Colts have played WAY better on D in the playoffs and the Bears have gone the opposite direction. Defense wins championships? Well, a great D can. This is a game that will be determined by the guts and destiny of the Saints Team. They know they are playing for a lot more than just themselves. A whole region of people from the Gulf Coast area are pulling for them. Me included.

Saints 37, Bears 27

Second game, Patriots @ Colts:
I think this is the best game of the day by far. The Colts have to get that monkey off their back, just like Steve Young did in the Super Bowl vs. the Chargers. It is weighing on Peyton Manning. I think the home crowd in the Dome really helps the Colts today. Their D won't be as good as it has been, and this will be another high scoring game. Manning will look more like Manning and the Colts will win it on a Vinateri field goal. Wouldn't that be ironic? The greatest clutch kicker in the history of the game leaves the Pats in free agency and goes to their rivals... only to beat them to win the Super Bowl in his first season away from the team. That would be a cool story.

Colts 41, Patriots 38

If it goes down like this, then the Super Bowl will have a Houston connection. First, Houston was awesome with great support to New Orleans during Katrina. There are still hundreds of thousands of people living in Houston that are from Louisiana. I hope they get something to bring them a little joy this year. I am definitely rooting for the Saints to go all the way.

Plus, in the AFC, the Colts are in the Texans division and Houston beat the Colts in week 15. :) Does that mean we are just as good as them? That we are really close to the Super Bowl ourselves? Probably not! But, it still is a lift to see how good the Colts are playing since we beat them. Maybe it will deliver some confidence to my home town team?

We'll see what happens. I usually think Championship games are a lot more 'defensive' and lower scoring than this. This weekend is the exception... of course, I could be totally wrong. That's happened before!

ESPN Predictions
--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

New Poll - Super Bowl Winner?

The best time of the year... the NFL Playoffs. Who will win it all this year?

My money would be on the Chargers, best overall team. But, I am rooting for the Saints. How can you root against New Orleans after everything they have been through? Wouldn't that be an awesome story?

Get Your Poll Widget

--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

Cowher Powers Down

This isn't very surprising after what has been rumored all year long, but it still does sting. I remember when they hired him and I said, "Bill Who?" Boy did he take Steelers fans for a great ride.

I am sure that after winning the Super Bowl last season things were different for him. He had reached the top of the mountain and things look differently from up there sometimes.

I wish him the best of luck, but I can not see him roaming the sidelines for another team. It WILL happen in a couple of years, but it is just hard to even imagine. Could he possibly come back with a team like the hated rival Cleveland Browns? I just can't see it. But that is rumored as well. He played in Cleveland.

Thanks for the ride Bill. 15 great years. I sure won't feel as close to the Steelers now that you are gone.

Bill Cowher to step down as Steelers Coach on Friday Afternoon
--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

Texans 27 - Colts 24

For the first time in franchise history (5 years) the Houston Texans beat the Indy Colts.

Merry Christmas Texans Fans!

--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

Is it really Christmas Eve?

Is it really Christmas Eve? Or is it "Super Bowl Sunday?" Sure seems like Super Sunday to me. In both of my fantasy leagues I am in the Super Bowl today. I am nervous about both leagues though. I have had a fabulous ride in both leagues, easily wnning both. In both our family league and my other yahoo league my record is 12-2. The two losses in both leagues were against the second and third best regular season teams.

But, in both leagues I am an underdog today. :(

In the family league I play my 2-time defending champion sister. She beat me last year in the SB, too. And I lost in my other league in the SB as well.

Will I be jinxed again in 2006? I am nervous.

Here are my teams:

Tenacious D (12-2)
QB Carson Palmer
WR Andre Johnson, Braylon Edwards
RB Steven Jackson, Rudi Johnson, Dominic Rhodes
TE Antonio Gates
K Jeff Wilkins
D Kansas City (already had a great game last night)

MillsBranch Monsters (12-2)
QB Carson Palmer
WR Reggie Wayne, Lee Evans, Terry Glenn
RB Steven Jackson, Ladell Betts
TE Jeremy Shockey
K Josh Brown
D Kansas City (already had a great game last night)

I am nervous. Please, fantasy Gods, fare me well.
--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com

Help David Carr

This is pretty funny... click here to Help David Carr!



--
track the comments on this entry at co.mments.com