So here's the summer in a nutshell. Got married, took a bit of time off, started coaching football at SFU. That pretty much sums up the last two months other than slaving away at my job - yeah, I know, it's pretty demanding to talk for a living.
But now, my sports senses have been revitalized. It's September. CFL's in full swing, college football is started and the NFL kicks off. Throw in baseball's stretch drive and NHL training camps and you've got reason to be invigorated if you have any sort of sports pulse whatsoever. Here's what I know right now:
Showtime
With all due respect to the Giants and Redskins scrimmage, the NFL kicks off in earnest on Sunday. Brett Favre makes his Jets' debut in Miami, Aaron Rodgers begins filming The Replacement in Green Bay, Tom Brady starts his rehab from last year's Super Bowl loss against a JV team from Kansas City, while NFL Hollywood (aka the Dallas Cowboys) visits the Dawg Pound in Cleveland (no, that's not where Michael Vick is incarcerated). The best thing about the NFL is that you can make a solid case as to why 22 of the 32 teams have legimate reason to be thinking postseason. Here's who I'm picking to make the playoffs:
AFC NFC
1. New England (13-3) 1. Dallas (14-2)
2. San Diego (12-4) 2. New Orleans (11-5)
3. Jacksonville (11-5) 3. Green Bay (11-5)
4. Pittsburgh (11-5) 4. Seattle (10-6)
5. Indianapolis (11-5) 5. Philadelphia (10-6)
6. Denver (9-7) 6. Carolina (10-6)
I know there are way trendier picks like Minnesota, Buffalo and Cleveland to consider, but I'm playiing a couple of hunches on this one. As for my guys in San Francisco, the 49ers will be better than people expect them to be, but it won't be enough for a playoff spot. I'm saying they win between 6-8 games and are back in the hunt for the postseason in 2009.
Showtime
With all due respect to the Giants and Redskins scrimmage, the NFL kicks off in earnest on Sunday. Brett Favre makes his Jets' debut in Miami, Aaron Rodgers begins filming The Replacement in Green Bay, Tom Brady starts his rehab from last year's Super Bowl loss against a JV team from Kansas City, while NFL Hollywood (aka the Dallas Cowboys) visits the Dawg Pound in Cleveland (no, that's not where Michael Vick is incarcerated). The best thing about the NFL is that you can make a solid case as to why 22 of the 32 teams have legimate reason to be thinking postseason. Here's who I'm picking to make the playoffs:
AFC NFC
1. New England (13-3) 1. Dallas (14-2)
2. San Diego (12-4) 2. New Orleans (11-5)
3. Jacksonville (11-5) 3. Green Bay (11-5)
4. Pittsburgh (11-5) 4. Seattle (10-6)
5. Indianapolis (11-5) 5. Philadelphia (10-6)
6. Denver (9-7) 6. Carolina (10-6)
I know there are way trendier picks like Minnesota, Buffalo and Cleveland to consider, but I'm playiing a couple of hunches on this one. As for my guys in San Francisco, the 49ers will be better than people expect them to be, but it won't be enough for a playoff spot. I'm saying they win between 6-8 games and are back in the hunt for the postseason in 2009.
Scrambled Dave
Somebody needs to take the ball out of Dave Dickenson's hands. I've trusted this guy's judgment over the facts for the past couple of seasons, but he's been speaking from his heart instead of his hea
d. Dickenson has been placed on the 9-game injured list with post-concussion symptoms following some big hits against the Eskimos on Monday. That outing marked the first real game action for Dave since last November. If you get concussed AGAIN in less than a half of football after resting for nearly ten months, you are not fit to play no matter how much you love the game. If Dicksenson had absolutely no life outside of football and was doomed to wander the earth in vain after his playing days, I might understand him playing until he couldn't stand up anymore. But we're talking about one of the brightest and most thoughtful guys I've ever met in professional sports, and he's got a young a family to boot. His brother is a coach in Calgary. Craig, take away his jersey, please.
Sundin = Pipe Dream
How many different ways does Mats Sundin have to say he's not coming to Vancouver without actually saying it? I can't believe that there are actually some fans who believe this is even a possibility (if any of you are reading this, I have some investment opportunities at a little firm called Enron to talk to you about). Mike Gillils made his best pitch to get Sundin and the big Swede said "no". He said it very politely, and the words were much more complimentary, but it ain't happenin'. Expect a team with much younger faces than you saw last year which should resutl in more excitement if not wins.
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