From the Bleachers

Monday, January 31, 2011

Where the streets have no name: U2 and the best Superbowl half time show ever.

The best Superbowl half time show of all time? Naturally, it was a bunch of lads from Dublin. Let's face it - there will never be another Superbowl half time show as good as U2 in 2002. Ever. There simply isn't anything that can top it. From the choice of songs (two absolute classics), to the incredible reaction from the crowd, the classy sans-politicking memorial all the way to Bono's enjoyably over the top showmanship. There isn't even any point in holding up other half time show as comparison as it would be like comparing The Tulsa Dirt Dogs Sunday slow pitch softball team to The Boston Red Sox.

U2 managed to do the almost impossible, by being both dignified and entertaining, in an often electric manner. They grabbed the attention of people all around the Globe. It was the perfect performance for an imperfect time in our lives.

Peter King of CNNSI wrote emotively;
"U2's two songs -- I wish it had been nine -- were perfect for the occasion. 'Beautiful Day' was more baleful than what I heard on tour, and 'Where the Streets Have No Name' sounded better because it was less noisy than a usual concert, I think because of the backdrop of all the names of the people who died in the Sept. 11 tragedy. I praise you, NFL, selfishly, for giving me 11 terrific minutes at halftime of a great event."

The New York Daily News said;

"During last night's halftime show, the mini-concert by U2 managed to strike the right mood of patriotism, pride and solemnity in this first Super Bowl since the Sept. 11 tragedy.

The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy, who had previous to this never written a good word about anything (with apologies, Dan!) said;"U2's Super Bowl halftime performance -- with names of the deceased from 9/11 scrolling while they played 'Where the Streets Have No Name' -- was the greatest halftime show in the history of sporting events. Hands down."

First up, U2 came on stage to 'Beautiful Day'

At the time, on a personal level, this was one of those pinnacle life moments for me. The new England Patriots had miraculously made it to the Superbowl against all the odds and were not only competing they were actually leading. The defence was playing out of it's skin and Tom Brady looked like a veteran and not the rough-around-the-edges rookie he actually was.

I was home watching with my Dad, my brother and my friend Paul and I didn't even know U2 were going to be the half time entertainment. When they came on stage I thought to myself 'This really can't get any better'.

It was indeed a beautiful day Bono, touché

The opening song was a great way to kick things off but I don't think anyone was prepared for what followed. Bono and the Edge singing softly together as the massive September 11th memorial unveiled behind them was to date the most simple yet moving and caring memorial to that terrible day I have seen. The mesmeric guitar opening to 'Where the streets..' started up in the background and the Louisiana crowd was ready to explode long before Bono offered 'I want to dance, in the Louisiana rain'

Here is 'Where the streets have no name' in all it's glory.

If this doesn't make your heart beat just a little bit stronger, well then, you are already dead inside.

Forget the nip-slip, forget the awful 'The Who' showing, or the lethargic, aged Rolling Stones stumble down memory lane. Forget the rest, this was the best.

Linkage

Comments
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A few general sporting queries from Zelgebrat the extraterrestrial

Greetings, earthlings. I am Zelgebrat the space alien. I have traveled light years to visit your planet. Do no be alarmed by my flawless English. By complete fluke it would appear we speak the exact same language. Let's cut to the chase. I am absolutely fascinated by this thing you call 'sports'. Since I have landed on your planet I have assimilated 4,567,967 hours of sporting action with my enormous alien brain. I love it. I am hooked. We don't have anything like it on Planet Zingaboom, where we are primarily into bloated gloating and various forms of foot fetish as forms of exercise. ‘Sports’, as you call it, absolutely riveting.

I just have a few questions. Maybe you can help me out.

Leading off, this NHL hockey thing looks interesting. I am kind of stumped by a few parts of it though. Why does the guy who scores come off the ice immediately after scoring? Is that a rule? Or just a tradition? Why do they allow players to fight? In other sports players are ejected for fighting. I don't get it. Is that just a tradition too?

I tried watching some soccer football, and at first I enjoyed it. My massive alien brain particularly enjoyed watching the teams Barcelona and Arsenal weave their intricate passing moves together. However, eventually my even handed alien propensity for logic has forced me to give up on soccer. There is just too much simulation. Players dive to the ground without even being touched, often affecting the outcome of the game. Why does FIFA not step in and ban players for 3-5 games for 'diving'? This would stomp it out immediately. Why don't they act? Maybe they are too busy counting cash obtained from bribes. FIFA officials seem to approve of a good bribe.

FIFA have so far not returned my calls

Moving on, as I transmongified around the planet, hopping effortlessly from earth country to earth country, I thoroughly enjoyed the adult pastime of gambling on sporting events. It made the games more exciting, and although ill never get to spend them, I very much enjoyed winning many earth units of currency. Now, why was I not allowed gamble in the country you earthlings call the United States? I could gamble in Ireland, I could gamble in England. I could even gamble in Russia. However, not in the United States. I was allowed purchase an automatic weapon, which I could then go out and kill many people with, but I wasn't allowed place a considered adult wager. This confused me greatly.

Continuing on to NFL football, excuse my alien innocence, but I don't get all the adulation for this Ray Lewis individual, he of the Ravens of Baltimore. Also, why did Baltimore choose such a dramatically non-intimidating bird as their logo? Back to Ray Lewis, I watched the game against Pittsburgh on my 6D TV aboard my spacecraft, and was bemused at the incessant praise being heaped on him. What's that you say? 6D? Yes, it's pretty superior to 4D and 5D. Lewis, it appears to me, is almost always the last guy in on the tackle, and yet the commentary teams were fawning over him as if he was the second coming of the one you earthlings call, LT.

One has to note, he doesn't seem to be an upstanding citizen, either. Lewis was involved in the murder of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, for which he was both suspended and fined a quarter of a million by the NFL. Legally, he got out of a murder charge by testifying against two friends. He then paid off the Lollar and Baker families as a result of a civil suit. If you are innocent, why pay people off? I have to ask, and again excuse my alien innocence, why is this guy given such a pillar to stand on and be praised upon?

Amongst the many million hours sporting events I assimilated into my wildly enormous alien brain, I found the NBA perhaps the most aggravating. It would appear to be some kind of theatrical performance, rather than a sport. The pudgy little referees have way too much room to make arbitrary calls and subsequently have way too much influence on the game. Some call fouls, some don't, some eject players for seemingly absolutely nothing. Some fix games for betting purposes. Amongst all the sports I watched, and I am even including such non-sports as cricket here, the NBA referees are easily the worst arbiters of sporting events. Why do you earthlings accept this?

Oh, one more question before I go. This weekend past I had some serious alien business to attend to off-planet, so I missed the AFC Championship game. I assume the Jets of New York won, and are on their inevitable and unstoppable march to the Superbowl? Right? I mean, they seemed pretty confident about it, so I assume they won? Otherwise, all that foot stomping, gloating, all those back flips in the ends zone and self touting, that would have all seemed pretty ridiculous, no?!

I have many more questions, which I will drop by and pose to you earthlings at an undetermined date in the future, for now, keep watching the skies, the truth is out there, and I can not wait to cash in my New York Jets Superbowl bet! Peace, Zelgebrat out.

Linkage

Monday, January 24, 2011

Jay Cutler and casting the first proverbial stone

We are going to have to come up with a name for this idiotic phenomenon. You know the drill, something happens in the sporting world, and within seconds the army-of–the-undead like cretins of the Internet spew forth a Tsunami of hate and bile.

These are the basic facts. Last night in the NFC Championship game, Chicago Bears trigger man Jay Cutler hurt his knee. As it turns out he hurt it pretty bad. Cutler said he injured his knee on the second-to-last series in the first half and then aggravated it on the next series. After hurting the knee, Cutler tried to test it by riding a stationary bike on the sideline, where he remained throughout the game. Word on the street is Cutler will undergo an MRI on Monday.

Cue the madness

Not long after the game ended, the Internet and talk show trolls spilled into action, jamming Chicago sports lines and Internet forums with their own turgid brand of verbal rubbish. They questioned Cutler's toughness and angrily demanded the Bears trade him. They made ignorant homosexual references and crass sexist analogies. You know that idiotic 15% of NFL fans that think they can say anything? Well, those guys were out in force last night

Of course it’s not only the no-name zombies of the Internet looking to verbally assault Cutler post game. Enter Michael Wilbon. Logon to ESPN today and you can read this little cracker; ''Injury aside, Jay Cutler's NFC Championship Game showing proved he's not worthy of the Chicago Bears.'' Written by the big man himself.

Wilbon apparently decided to summarize Cutler's season, and his worth to the Bears, on the basis of one single game, as opposed to the bulk of the regular season. He also did so in full knowledge of the fact that Cutler was injured, badly, in the game he has decided to judge his entire season upon.

Wilbon leaves it unclear whether he has tried to play in an NFL game with a serious injury or not
About the only exercise we are 100% sure he gets is chasing after skimpily clad bimbos in the VIP areas of shady clubs. Do an Internet image search for Wilbon and basically half the returned images are Wilbon amongst a group of vapid looking, half naked women, or with an individual of similar ilk perched on his meaty lap.

The point is, Wilbon wouldn’t know a sporting injury if it came up to him, slapped him in the face and then bit him in his ample posterior. Unfair? Wilbon leaves himself open for ridicule, with a knee jerk, reactionary piece like that referenced. Particularly when Cutler has played extremely well this season for the Bears.

Cutler played a full season behind an offensive line that yielded the most sacks in the NFL. Despite this, he missed only one game, and that was due to concussion. Without Cutler, the Bears would not have got as far as the playoffs, let alone the Championship game.

The good news is, the opinion of the Internet Trolls and sofa bound cheeseburger chuggers like Wilbon amounts to basically nothing in terms of importance. What matters most to Cutler, no doubt, is the opinion and indeed the feelings of his team mates. In this case, the Bears have Cutler's back, and no amount of mud slinging by attention seeking loud mouths like Wilbon will change that.

Take Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who angrily defended Cutler, for example;

‘’Jay was hurt. I don't question his toughness. He's tough as hell. He's one of the toughest guys on our football team. For them to question his toughness is stupid to me."

Furthermore, the most telling comments on the severity of the injury, as described in detail by Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz, who noted seeing Cutler's leg shaking during a huddle in the second quarter.

"I didn't even think he was going to finish the half. When he came back to try it again, that amazed me. It was shaking right after he took the hit and walked back in the huddle. It was swinging like this [waving his hand back and forth]. So I knew one of his ligaments probably went. I can't remember exactly what play it was. I know it was the second quarter. I remember him walking in the huddle, and I saw it shaking like this. I said, 'Ah, man.'"

It is abundantly clear, the Bears are completely behind Cutler on this.

If you have ever been hit by a crazed, angry lineman or linebacker, if you have ever had a serious sporting injury, you would think twice about questioning the bravery of any athlete, let alone Jay Cutler.

However, if you are a cretinous moron sitting at home in your underwear, alone, eating cold pizza, downloading the entire back catalogue of 'Two and a half men' and the latest Kanye West CD, while playing online poker and watching the NFL, you probably have nothing better to do than rant idiotically about someone else’s bravery or your take on their lack of. The Internet Trolls, therefore, have some kind of an excuse.

Not so sure about Wilbon, perhaps he just needs a little attention?

Linkage

Friday, January 21, 2011

NFC Championship game: Green Bay @ Chicago

Fantastic, old school NFC Championship game, with a plethora of side stories and intriguing anecdotes. Green Bay has been doing things the hard way all season long so traveling to Soldier Field will not scare them unduly. They have beaten the Giants, Eagles and Falcons in recent weeks and look like a real force to be reckoned with. The offence is slinging the ball around with consummate ease, racking up points like Vince Wilfork gobbles up cheeseburgers. To add to that, the Packers boast the league's fifth-ranked defense and tied for second with 47 sack. Clay Matthews was fourth in the league with 13 ½ QB take downs. Many see the Bears succumbing to a bull-rush of Packer blitzers.

Here’s the thing. Since week 7, when the Bears were just 4-3, Cutler and Co embarked on a sparkling 7-1 run which led to the NFC North championship and subsequent first-round bye. Much of the success came off the back of clever play calling from offensive guru Mike Martz, and excellent execution by Cutler and his bevy of speedy receivers. Not to mention Matt Forte. Martz and Cutler can come up with a game plan of 3-5 step drops, quick passes and chain moving plays to avoid the inevitable Packer rush.

Two more big factors to talk about. The only glaring Achilles heel in this game is the Packers running game, or lack of it. They are going into this encounter with one of the worst running games in the NFL. The Bears will be able to sit back and play the pass, with very little effort required to stop the Packer running game. The Packers can do no such thing, they have to give Matt Forte his due respect, which opens up the field a little for Jay Cutler.

Finally, the Bears special teams unit is one of the best in the NFL, in terms of both the return game and the coverage side of things. Devin Hester is keeping the Packers coaching team up late at night, as they try to think of ways to keep the football away from him.

This has all the makings of a classic encounter. The Packers have played great football the last few weeks, however they may have just a few more question marks hanging over them in the form of that shoddy run game, and some awful early season losses. Chicago, at home, with so many weapons to play with, in a surprise shoot out.

The Pick: The Bears 35-32

Linkage

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Irish midfielder Andy Reid may benefit from Darren Bent departure

English Premiership side Sunderland’s supporters have been taken by surprise today with a shock transfer request from super striker Darren Bent.

The 26 year old England player was seen by many to be manager Steve Bruce’s first name on the team sheet every weekend.

Now Bent wants out, and Aston Villa appear to be ready to table a £18 million bid for the striker.

The knock on effects of this potential move are plentiful, and one of those would be a possible increase in playing time for tricky Irish midfield player Andy Reid. Reid is just back from a loan spell at Sheffield United, where he scored a couple of crucial goals. He is fit, and knocking on the door to get into the team. Some media entities are speculating that Reid not being in the team is part of the reason Bent wants out, the striker being unhappy that his fruitious supply line of last season (Reid contributed a large percentage of the assists for Bent’s goals) has been cut off.

Whether Bent moves on now or not, Bruce will find it hard to resist giving the Irish man a good run in the side, to see if his superb passing ability can add something to Sunderland in the attacking half of the field.

As for Bent himself, this is just a case of one more greedy English soccer player, who does not understand the concept of a contractual agreement. Bent signed a four year deal in 2009 and is paid very handsomely by his club to play a game. He is also completely idolized by the adoring Sunderland fans, although not for long perhaps in the light of these revelations.

Perhaps someone needs to sit Bent down and explain the idea behind the Premiership table to him. Sunderland, sitting nicely in sixth place, on the cusp of European competition, are enjoying a fantastic season under a progressive manager in front of 45,000 + every weekend. Aston Villa are fourth from bottom of the table, twelve points behind Sunderland, and most would consider them a club in turmoil.

Having been to both the Birmingham and Sunderland areas, I can confirm Bent is not gaining anything in terms of standard of living by moving down South. Sunderland is a proud, friendly and welcoming City. Birmingham? With all due respect, let’s just say it could do with a bit of a facelift.

With Bent's request now out in the open, the pieces will move around the board for a day or a week or two, and fall into place. With more close to £20 million in the coffers and some interesting options available to Bruce, things don't look too bad for Sunderland.

For Bent, a curious move, a questionable future on a questionable team beckons.

Linkage

Monday, January 17, 2011

Drive to extinction: Patriots 7:45 long drive leads directly to demise

Cold, grey January morning here in Dublin. Perfect weather to wake up to a world where Rex Ryan is right, and Braylon Edwards is still in the playoffs. A good friend sent me a short, despairing text which said simply; ‘Brady has lost his magic.’ He’s not alone in thinking that, and all over the globe Patriots fans are questioning how their team lost to the offensively challenged Jets.

However, as with everything in life, the simplest explanation is the most logical explanation.

The Patriots made a key stop with the majority of the fourth quarter remaining. They were only 10 points down. A quick, efficient scoring drive would have given them a Vince Wilfork sized portion of tasty wiggle room. This was easy to envisage as they had sped down the field like an Olympic sprinter on the previous drive, scoring easily after chucking the ball around the park a few times.

The Patriots embarked on their crucial drive, and 7 minutes and 45 seconds later their season was effectively over.

Instead of launching a quick strike attack, something these Patriots are not only famous for, but infinitely well equipped for also, they instead spilled out onto the field into a turgid, slow, painful drive that had players, coaches and indeed fans livid on the field, sideline and sofas. The drive to extinction for the 2010/2011 Patriots started at their own 18. It took 14 plays to make 48 yards (3.4 yards a play) and it ended on downs when Brady and Branch couldn’t hook up down the left sideline.

Side-note, the Patriots could have attempted a 52 yard field goal instead of a 13 yard first down, and you would imagine in hindsight they may have taken that option. But, what is it they say about hindsight?

Two factors on ‘the drive’ would add up to equal fatality. The Patriots looked very, very slow and lethargic out of the huddle. They frequently allowed the play clock to click down to 04, 03 and 02 seconds before running off a play. As the game clock ticked down towards single digits, you were left wondering, ‘what’s the plan here?!’ Secondly, were 7 running plays really going to get the job done at that stage? 7 ineffective run plays, when the Patriots needed to score quickly, stop the Jets and then score again.

You really need look no further at all to find the source of the end of the Patriots season. Brady has not lost his magic, in fact he looked superb on the previous drive. There is no great mystique here. A slow, ultimately ineffective drive killed them off. There is nothing or no one else to blame. The Jets won fair and square, and their class-less, idiotic and childish celebrations at game end were only to be expected from a team as arrogant and mouthy as they are.

The Patriots have only themselves to blame, and that’s what stings perhaps the most.

Now, when do pitchers and catchers report?

Linkage

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Young Irish striker bags brace for Celtic

Celtic saw off Scottish Premiere League strugglers Hibernian with an efficient 3-0 win on Saturday early afternoon in the Scottish capital. Celtic never looked in danger and could have had a couple more, as they stretched their lead at the top of the table.

Highlight of the match was Irish striker Anthony Stokes beautiful, half volleyed strike after 50 minutes, which coincidentally added up to his 50th goal in Scottish football.

You can catch the wonder-strike on the video below, which also has his earlier penalty too, which he converted with sublime ease.

Perhaps the young striker's beautifully taken second goal will force himself into Irish manager Gio Trapattoni's plans. There is no denying Stokes eye for goal would benefit this current Irish side.

Previous stories on Stokes:

Linkage