Happy Monday!
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame we look at the reasons behind the Toronto Maple Leafs firing their coach, an idea that would make the final month of the NHL season more interesting for non-playoff teams, the “expanded” MLB playoffs and Ryan Braun’s overturned doping case.
In the GABBYs: Bat boys, the LA Clippers, Brad Keselowski, Danica Patrick, Tiger Woods/Peyton Hillis and the New Orleans Saints. The Punchline this week is USA Yoga!
Happy Tuesday!
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame we’re discussing some potential trades from around the NHL, Alex Ovechkin’s work ethic and news that former Oiler Mike Comrie is calling it a career. As well, we look at what the Edmonton Eskimos did in the opening days of CFL free agency, what LeBron James said about returning to Cleveland and the circus that surrounded the recent fight between Vitali Klitschko and Dereck Chisora.
In the GABBYs: Teemu Selanne, the Detroit Red Wings, Brad Marchand, the Rochester Knighthawks, Roburt Sallie and Brazilian soccer club XV de Jau. The Punchline this week is the “Piggyback Bandit,” Sherwin Shayegan.
The internet certainly is a great time-waster, isn’t it?
Whether you’re trying to get through a long day at school, a long day at work, or just a long day in general, the internet is always there to offer a helping hand, usually in the form of completely random, useless information. In our case though – it’s viral videos!
Here is a glimpse into what is happening in the world of viral sports flicks at the moment:
Let’s start off on the slopes with this stunning video from fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton (via The Nosebleeds) – he got pro snowboarder William Hughes to wear an LED suit and shred some pow late at night! (VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP!) (more…)
Happy Monday!
This week on 15MOF, we’re talking coaching injuries in the NHL and long goal droughts (Scott Goalmez!), the NBA’s Tim Tebow and we discuss whether or not we will ever see the “super fight” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao!
In the GABBYs: Paul Pierce & Kobe Bryant, Tomas Holmstrom & Nick Lidstrom, the Penticton Vees, Gisele Bundchen, Kevin Love and Tiquan Underwood. The Punchline this week is soccer player Adriano!
The Edmonton Eskimos won’t have their top quarterback from last year. Now they won’t have their top running back either.
On Saturday night according to TSN, Jerome Messam, the Canadian Football League’s top Canadian from 2011, has signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Messam was third in the CFL in rushing last season with 1057 yards, only trailing Brandon Whitaker of the Montreal Alouettes and Cory Boyd of the Toronto Argonauts.
With Messam leading the Eskimos’ offensive attack, Edmonton secured its first home playoff game since 2003.
Just how dominant was Messam and how important was he to their offensive game plan? Well, he had 780 more yards than Hugh Charles, who finished second in rushing with 277 yards.
The Dolphins meanwhile will probably use Messam as a backup to former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. (Or at least he once won the Heisman Trophy before having his name crossed off for accepting gifts, a violation of the NCAA policy.)
Earlier in the off-season, Edmonton traded Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts.
Owen Nolan (Wikimedia Commons)
The sports world saw two recognizable athletes decide to retire on Tuesday.
In the NHL, Owen Nolan officially retired from professional hockey. The 39 year-old right winger played for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild.
Nolan is the greatest player ever to have come from Northern Ireland. The first overall pick with the Quebec Nordiques in 1990, Nolan’s best season was in 2000 with the Sharks when he scored 44 goals and 40 assists in 78 games.
A five-time all-star, Nolan’s most recognizable goal came in the 1997 NHL All-Star Game when he called his shot and scored on Dominik Hasek.
Raised in Canada, Nolan won a Gold medal for Team Canada at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, in the football world, former NFLer and CFLer Ricky Williams retired from the Baltimore Ravens at age 34. Williams played running back for the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens and also played a season for the Toronto Argonauts while he was suspended by the NFL for drug use.
Known for his complex personality, Williams’s story has been well documented. The 1998 Heisman Trophy winner had 10,009 career rushing yards.
Gisele Bundchen (Tiago Chediak, Wikimedia Commons)
For the second consecutive Super Bowl famous female personalities have dominated the Super Bowl headlines.
Last year it was four-time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera missing a line during the Star Spangled Banner and now this year it was Tom Brady’s wife and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen as well as the British rapper M.I.A. who are the top post Super Bowl stories.
M.I.A. (real name Maya Arulpragasam) of Sri Lankan descent, inappropriately extended her middle finger to the cameras during the halftime show. While many, including me thought it would be Madonna that might decide to pull a controversial stunt based on her history, it was the lesser known M.I.A. instead. Madonna meanwhile was on her best behaviour.
Bundchen meanwhile made headlines for publicly stating she couldn’t believe her husband’s receivers dropped the ball so many times and that Tom Brady simply can’t throw and catch footballs at the same time. Come to think of it, didn’t Brett Favre catch his first professional football pass himself? Bundchen obviously has a point but it doesn’t strengthen her relationship with Brady when she criticizes his co-workers on the world’s greatest stage.
Happy Monday!
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame, we recap Super Bowl XLVI between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots, we take a look back at Sam Gagner’s eight-point night against the Blackhawks and we try to figure out if the Edmonton Oilers still have a shot at the playoffs, and who might not be on the team when the trade deadline hits.
In the GABBYs: NHL milestones, Shaun White, Rubellos, Zimbabwe soccer, John Foley and Alex Radulov. The Punchline this week is Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
If you are a football fan that is absolutely mesmerized and shaking your head that the New York Giants won the Super Bowl this season, you’re simply not alone.
No team was so great against the elite and so brutal against the below average/ordinary teams this season than the New York Football Giants. In fact, their overall inconsistencies this season was so inordinary, I have a difficult time accepting the fact they are Super Bowl champions.
But here I am trying to analyze this football team and it has left me mildly speechless. I think my best explanation is the Giants this season were a football club that got hot at just the right time. They were able to show dominance on both sides of the football when they needed to most even though there were several hiccups along the way in the regular season.
The Giants were not the best team in the regular season. They were far from it. But at 9-7, they won the NFC East and then beat the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. If you beat those four teams in postseason play, you simply deserve the title.
In the Giants 21-17 win Sunday in Indianapolis, Eli Manning was the game MVP after he completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. But I don’t think it will be his two yard first quarter touchdown throw to Victor Cruz that people will remember most. It will be a 38 yard pass to Mario Manningham when the Giants were on their own 12 yard line and trailing 17-15 with just over three minutes left that people will remember most.
Manningham caught the ball with remarkable precision near the sideline and was able to get both feet in bounds by the slimmest of margins. Sure, the Giants had their luck along way. On the Patriots previous drive, Wes Welker dropped a Tom Brady pass that would have gone for at least 30 yards.
But the Patriots simply couldn’t execute like the Giants today. The Giants might not have been flashy but over the last month, they were the team to make the least mistakes and that is why they are Super Bowl Champions.
Aaron Rodgers (Bing Images)
Last night in the Super Bowl, festivities, the National Football League had an event that simulated something that has taken place in the Canadian Football League for years– an awards show immediately prior to the Championship game.
On Saturday, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers was named NFL MVP. Rodgers won 48 of a possible 50 votes. The Packer quarterback led Green Bay to a 15-1 regular season record and led all quarterbacks with a 122.5 quarterback rating.
Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints was named the top offensive player. Brees set the NFL record this past season with 5476 passing yards and also led the NFL with 46 touchdown passes.
Other award winners were Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens for top defensive player, Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matt Stafford for comeback player of the year, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh won Coach of the Year, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Super Bowl XLVI takes place tomorrow from Indianapolis, as the New York Giants play the New England Patriots in a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2007 when the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Currently the Patriots are a 2.5 point favourite.
With all the talk that the Giants have the better defense than the Patriots, I simply don’t buy it. The Patriots allowed 58 fewer points than the Giants this season.
Offensively, there has been some concern regarding who Tom Brady will be able to throw to at the tight end position with Rob Gronkowski hurt. People must remember that Aaron Hernandez is the best backup tight end in the NFL.
I’m picking the Patriots to win their fourth Super Bowl 34-16. For more information on Super Bowl XLVI please go to my blog earlier in the week.
Super Bowl Logo (Wikimedia Commons)
Is it me, or does anyone disagree with the notion that there still should be two weeks between the NFL Conference Championships and the Super Bowl?
For those that just might have forgotten, the New England Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 in the AFC Championship and the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime for the NFC Championship to set up Sunday’s big game from Indianapolis.
If you watched the Pro Bowl in Hawaii this past weekend, and apparently saw Brandon Marshall of the Miami Dolphins record four touchdown receptions, shame on you. How can you have an All-Star Game when the two best teams in the league aren’t represented?
Happy Monday!
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame, we give a passing grade to the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, touch on Tim Thomas’ decision to skip his team’s White House visit and discuss the biggest surprises in the league at the All-Star break. As well: we give out our Super Bowl predictions and comment on a couple of massive MLB contracts!
In the GABBYs: The Canadian women’s soccer team, US Senator John Kerry, Jay Cutler, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Kyle Williams and Scott Gomez. The Punchline this week is Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe!
One of the best defensive players in the Canadian Football League is going to see how things emerge in the National Football League.
On Thursday, Solomon Elimimian of the British Columbia Lions, one of the top linebackers in football over the last two years, signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings.
Elimimian was second in the CFL last year with 98 tackles, seven behind Jerrell Freeman of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. But Elimimian was more impressive than Freeman, as the Lions defense gave up 97 fewer points than the last place Roughriders this past season.
If Elimimian makes the Vikings, he will be the latest CFL product under the tutelage of the great Wally Buono to have NFL success. He’ll join defensive specialist Cameron Wake of the Miami Dolphins, and quarterbacks Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia.
Elimimian will also join former Lions wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux, who joined Minnesota last summer. Elimimian was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2010 and then won a Grey Cup with the Lions in 2011. The University of Hawaii product was also a CFL all-star this past season.
In other NFL news, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have named Greg Schiano head coach. Schiano most recently coached the University of Rutgers.
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