Feb

4

Mike Schmidt is the only 3rd baseman so far to hit over 500 home runs. If Alex Rodriguez hadn't switched positions, it is more than likely that Schmidt would be the only one ever. Yet, for most of his career, the fans in Philadelphia were inclined to blame him because the Phillies had failed to win a championship. When the Phils finally did win the big one - because they got a bullpen to go with the starting pitching, someone asked Schmidt what he thought. He laughed and said, "It is amazing how much my character has improved from last season." The journalist took him at his word. Sport is wonderful, but at the professional level the outcome of a game is rarely determined by the character of the borrower. If Asante Samuel's hands hadn't betrayed him and Tyree and Manning hadn't made a play that they could not repeat again if they practiced it a hundred times, no one would be talking about the Giants' brilliant performance or their sterling character.

Last year Tom Brady managed to be missing when it came time to congratulate Peyton Manning for finally winning a playoff game against him. Love them or hate them, the Patriots' quarterback and his coach are consistent. They think they should win every game, and they don't want to stand around making nice when all they are thinking about is how to adjust the blocking scheme so that next time they catch the fake drop back and stunt by the Mike linebacker. As John McGraw did in his time, Bill Belichick views the game he coaches as being a war, not a game. It must be something in the water of the Chesapeake.


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5 Comments so far

  1. Anatoly Veltman on February 5, 2008 12:45 am

    BTW, to longs taking heart in bullish Superbowl indicator: I don’t mean to rain on Canyon of Champions parade; but past year broke with traditions on so many levels! Sell in May and Go Away - didn’t work; rally gained momentum into summer. Taking August off to play golf - you missed rare volatility and some of the biggest opportunities of the year. Iron-clad seasonal October bottom - market made all-time top. Xmas/Hanukkah didn’t ring any wealth-creating bells - instead, the decline of historic magnitude unfolded. In fact, only Great Depression has seen all three November, December and January down…

  2. kevin j on February 5, 2008 7:39 am

    Well said- now let’s see the genious coach in the garden pull some last minute tricks

  3. Mark Candon on February 5, 2008 4:00 pm

    I woke up around 5 am Monday morning, with Eli Manning in my grasp. I had him, but he somehow slipped away and lofted a high marshmellow down the middle of the field. We had four defenders intercepting it, except some tall Giant squeezed it in off his helmet.
    It’s so great to win a Super Bowl. I remember the Patriots first one as a wonderful dream in slow motion. My twin brother, a huge Giant fan, refused to bet New York last week on our drive down to our daughters’ basketball game. Looking straight ahead out the window, he said he didn’t want to risk a jinx.
    The Giants were my first pro football love. I started watching Charlie Conerley on my neighbor’s couch in 1956. I tasted my first bitter defeat in 1958 when Alan the Horse Ameche scored for Baltimore in overtime at Yankee Stadium. Tittle to Shofner. Had the Giants played any other team I’d have been overjoyed by their win.
    Had the Pats played any other team they would have gone 19-0, just too good to be true.
    To affect the quality of the day is the highest of the arts, which is why I still feel like somebody’s kicked me in the chest.

  4. tom siler on February 6, 2008 2:11 am

    I saw the Giants kill the Patriots. My NY komrades marched like somnambulists to a dirge called “Take Me Out To a Ballgame”. But- - -only 3 deaths (arguing over Fu-Ball). That’s one less than in Iraque (on one of “Those Days”). How about a ticker tape parade next time nazdack (the underdog) goes up a coupla points? We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight. Rolling until the break of dawn. When will Bob Dylan read Ginzburg’s “Howl” over “Half-Time” in Amerika? Tom Petty can never follow Janet Jackson. The Beatles are still bigger than Moses, at least physically taller, hystorically.

  5. Craig Bowles on February 6, 2008 12:01 pm

    3 deaths? That’s a switch. Chicago, Detriot and even Boston seem to get pretty wild after a big game but here is usually only a few hoots. The Knicks keep us humble.

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