Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Murino's Musings



• The BSC Championship will be broadcast in 3-D in 80 to 100 movie theaters across the nation. I don’t know what to think about this bit of absurdity. It’s pretty cool, I guess. Maybe a bit intense. I’m not sure what I would do if I saw a 350-pound lineman hurdling towards me, even it was just a hologram in a movie theater.

• Yesterday, I was asked which of my favorite teams, the Knicks, Mets, Jets, or Rangers, would win a championship first. I said the Knicks. It was a quick reaction and one, with adequate thought and reevaluation, I would probably change to the Mets or Rangers. The Mets, Rangers and even the Jets all have way more talent. The reason I instantly said the Knicks? They’re the least frustrating team I root for. They go out hard every single night and Mike D’Antoni is by far the best coach out of the four. The Jets don’t show up every game and neither do the Rangers. The Mets have been a joke the last two years. So, forgive me if I place my hopes in the free agent class of 2010, as irrational as it may be.

• How about those Knicks last night? They hung around with the Lakers. Wow. When Nate Robinson is on, he’s absolute unstoppable and he poured in 33. When it comes down to it, the Knicks just don’t know how to win games at the end, because they don’t have a true go-to guy. That was proven the last two nights, when Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant both took over the game at the end. The Knicks need someone to step up and hit that big shot – and it’ll be between Nate, Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler to see who takes that shot. Eventually, I think Chandler can be a star. But, he’s 21. He needs more seasoning.

• The Rangers played very well. They almost had another let down, giving up a great opportunity only seconds after scoring the game-leading goal with 3:16 left in the third period. But, they did not fold and let me just say – what a tying goal it was. Nigel Dawes has been in the doghouse all year, but it was impressive to see him just place the puck right out of reach of Pronger, then skate to the puck and shoot it in.

• Who’s the NFL MVP this season? It may seem like an open race, but I think Peyton Manning is the only candidate after overcoming a slow start. Drew Brees and Kurt Warner have to be in the conversation, but the Saints are an average team and honestly, so are the Cardinals. Other candidates? Adrian Peterson has to be considered. Matt Ryan, Chad Pennington and Kerry Collins have led their teams to surprising results, but do they have the numbers? I don’t think so. In the end, I think it comes down to Manning or A.P, with Manning winning it.

• How does Brett Favre make the Pro Bowl over Philip Rivers? That’s a joke. The Pro Bowl is an individual honor. Favre certainly made the Jets better this season. He put the Jets on the map, made them a relevant NFL franchise. There’s no way 7 Jets make the Pro Bowl without Favre being one of them. But, Rivers had the highest quarterback rating in the league and when it comes down to it, the Pro Bowl is a stats competition. You have to take Rivers’ 28 TD and 11 INT over Favre’s 21 TD and 17 INT.

• Is Joe Paterno seriously going to keep coaching another three years? Dude, you can’t even speak coherently at your press conferences and you expect me to believe you can still coach? I know Penn State was great this year, but c’mon Joe Pa. Retire. You’re 82. Spend some with the family. See France.

• Rafael Furcal has NOT signed with the Braves. Mike Cameron has NOT been traded to the Yankees. Congratulations, ESPN! Now, you’re even further away from being considered a legitimate news source that practices the principles of good journalism. I can’t just blame ESPN. It’s all about the gotcha moment in sports journalism – every site has their Jon Heyman, their Ken Rosenthal, their Buster Olney. And every site wants to report the news first. Too bad no one seems to care about getting it right. If a deal is simply close to being done, why the hell are you reporting it? It’s not done! That’s like reporting that the Mets lead the Phillies 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth.

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