courtesy flush sports edition

Courtesy Flush: Sports Edition

Just a quick run through of some sports over the past week. ONWARDS!

Sadly, I was at that Eagles disaster on Sunday. I'm actually glad to

say that I saw this final 97 yard drive by Brian Griese coming. You

see, one of the benefits of being a long-suffering Philadelphia sports

fan, you begin to anticipate and expect crushing defeats to take

place. No regular season loss has been as devistating in recent years

as that loss to the Bears. It officially ended the Eagles hopes of

making the playoffs this year. This isn't just because this was a

bitter loss, but due to the fact that the Birds still have two games

against Dallas, one more against NY Giants and Washington, at New

England, against Seattle, and at New Orleans. The key to this season

was getting off to a fast start to help guide the Birds through the

end of their schedule, that hasn't happened. Also, the rest of the NFC

East are a combined 15-5.

Rough Sunday if you were a Boston sports fan:

If you aren't lucky enough to have Tom Brady quarterbacking your

actual football team, it is just as good to have you QB-ing your

fantasy football team. After a ridiculous 6 TD performance, it is

clear that the Pats are going to run up the score on every team, and

their run game is secondary to Brady's TD numbers. Here's what I said

about Brady's fantasy impact in my NFL East Preview:

Best Fantsy Player: Tom Brady - he finally gets to have a multitude

of weapons around him. With Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth at WR

and Laurence Maroney coming into his own at RB it is almost like

Brady is being spoiled. He should be able to extract TD's like a

surgeon extracts a gall bladder this year.

As for the Red Sox, they came storming back from a 3-1 hole to beat

the Indians in Game 7 hours after the aforementioned Pats won yet

again. Personally, I'm happy that Daisuke Matsuzaka got the important

start and pitched very well. He's been under a lot of pressure to be

this elite pitcher right away, and it is going to take a year or two

for him just to get comfortable to the new environment. Everyone makes

a big deal about his $100 million contract, but he didn't ask the Red

Sox to spend half of that just for negotiating rights. It is a bloated

number, and I feel that along with an average year for this supposed

phenom has caused people to give him a harder time than he deserves.

In the World Series this year, it is obvious that no one has any idea

what will happen. Either team could sweep, it could go 7 games, every

game could be a blowout, every game could be close, hell with the

series going to snowy Denver in late October, we may not even finish

this whole thing until early March. It is a complete wild card on all

fronts. Too much is relied on for too many different things to take

place to make any kind of confident predictions aside from, the Sox

have experience or the Rockies lay off will hurt them. I did pick the

Sox at the beginning of the year, so I'm sticking with them because it

is more fun to be right than wrong, but I will say I think the whole

series will fall in line with how Game 1 goes. It is the battle of the

post season masters: Josh Beckett and his post season career vs. The

7-0, 21 of their last 22 Colorado Rockies. If Beckett pulls through

and shuts down the Rocks, I like Boston, but if the Rockies come out

firing another World Series Championship may not happen for the BoSox.

Not like Boston doesn't have enough trophies nowadays.

On another bizarre note, ex-Phillie Paul Byrd has been linked to HGH.

You'd think the feds would release, you know, good baseball players to

link to HGH. Sort of play up that, it's ruining the game and tainting

the sport type angle. If Paul Byrd, Jay Gibbons, and Jason Grimsley

are HGH users, then maybe it's just making baseball players that would

normally suck ass slightly more tolerable. In some weird way, it may

actually be improving the sport. If Wes Helms hits 15 homers next

year, investigators may wanna check out his bank statements.

(Note: the image is not altered. Paul Byrd really is that short and

stumpy.)

(Note: Byrd released this statement in regards to HGH allegations,

"Look at me! I look like an albino Smurf, and you're going to accuse

me of HGH?")

(Note: I just made that quote up.)

Finally, UFC had it's latest pay-per-view on Saturday. UFC 77: Hostile

Territory. While usually spectacular, this PPV was pretty weak and

disappointing. There were two highlights. The first was the official

announcement of Brock Lesnar as a UFC signee. Brock is a former

amateur wrestling champ, professional wrestling champ, and had his

attempt at becoming a professional football player thwarted a couple

years ago when he was cut from the Minnesota Vikings. However, Brock

may have found his calling with UFC. Stronger, faster, and more

skilled than virtually any heavyweight in UFC, the only question with

Brock is his ability to strike and take a hit. If he can be successful

at those two things, then he will surely be a champion.

Secondly, and more impressive, was the main event of Anderson Silva

vs. Rich Franklin. Silva has been on a tear as of late since beating

Franklin for the UFC Middleweight Championship by essentially breaking

his face with knees. This time was just a pure tactical display of

fighting by Silva. Virtually unchallenged all night by Franklin, Silva

knocked down Franklin at the end of the 1st Round before finishing him

off in the 2nd. It was about as impressive a victory as I have seen,

and firmly place Silva as one of the best fighters on the planet. The

only challenge may come from Dan Henderson, who is currently in the

205-lb. weight class division, who would have to cut weight to fight