The Corner of Controversy and Criticism- 2/1/2015
Ladies and Gentleman we have a Super Bowl champion and they are the New England Patriots. I will say that the Seattle Seahawks played really well on both ends of the ball. Chris Matthews, a virtual unknown for the Hawks was a difference maker and a play maker for them in first half. Tom Brady threw two interceptions that were costly. There were a lot of mixed reviews on the halftime show. Some people loved it, and many others hated it. I personally thought the commercials were a let down. I remember in the early 2000’s the commercials were must see and it’s not like that anymore. There were a few good commercials but not quite like they use to be. The Seahawks played like wanted to win the Super Bowl. Wilson, Lynch, Baldwin, Sherman, Chancellor, and others really have solidified this team. All the problems they had in the beginning season were squashed and they got back to playing great football. The Patriots who have been the center controversy for two weeks now made a comeback in the fourth quarter and Tom Brady showed signs of his greatness that he’s known for. He picked his spots and used great time management. Despite deflate-gate you cannot take away how well the Patriots during the fourth quarter. The Patriots played smart, played hard and made key moves when it counted to win the game. I also thought the fight at the end of the game was a bit ridiculous. I think the fact the Seattle talks a lot of trash and acts cocky all the time finally caught up to them. They had to eat crow and like it. It was a crazy ending to a crazy season and now we have the NFL Draft to look forward to in a few months.
In other NFL news, there are seven new men going into this years Pro Football Hall of Fame. They include Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, and Mick Tingelhoff. All of these men are very well deserving of the Hall of Fame. My person favorite has to be Tim Brown. I thought Brown was an amazing Wide Receiver and will never forget the year he and Jerry Rice were on the same team. Tim Brown was the face of the Oakland Raiders for many years and that deserves a lot of credit because Al Davis was a crazy man and difficult to work under. Junior Seau was one of the greatest defensive players that ever played the game. His life should not be remembered by how it ended but by how he lived. I personally am happy that he is being put into the hall of fame and the voters judged what he did on the field, not off the field. Some of the notable names who did not make this years cut are Kurt Warner, Terrell Davis, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace, John Lynch, Morten Andersen, Tony Dungy, Jimmy Johnson, and my personal all time favorite Kevin Greene. Eventually all these men should be in the hall of fame. They all definitely deserve it.
One Hall of Fame ceremony that took place this past week was the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Those that were inducted include Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly, Rex White, Fred Lorenzen and Bill Elliott. When think of Bill Elliott I think of the McDonalds car. I think of the nicknames Awesome Bill from Dawsonville and Million Dollar Bill. He has 44 wins, and a NASCAR Championship to his credit. He is still active in sons career which is getting brighter each day. Chase Elliott won the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series and starting in 2016 he will be the new driver of the number 24 car which Jeff Gordon will retire from after this year. There is a lot of pressure on Chase because of the legacy Jeff Gordon had in that 24 car. However I think he will do far much better then Austin Dillon who is driving the legendary number 3 car. The Elliott family has made their mark and I am sure their legend will continue to grow.
When I think of legends this week I think of the legend that is Anderson “Spider” Silva. Silva made his return Saturday night after a leg injury that could have ended his UFC career. He defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision and picked up right where he left off. Chris Weidman, who took the title off of Silva is injured and is now off of UFC 184. The UFC had called Lyoto Machida too take on Vitor Belfort but Belfort declined the fight which has quite a few fans upset. I think Dana White and the UFC need to change their contracts where that if a fighter signs to fight on a certain date then that fighter will fight on that date no matter what happens. There is no reason Belfort couldn’t have fought Machida. It not only screws the company up but it also screws the fans out of what they thought they were going to see. A lot of great fights coming up this spring and summer but the UFC has a lot of things they need to sort out with sponsorships and fighter contracts. Some of the things going in the UFC have been very questionable so I will be curious to see how things are handled in the future.
One of the biggest news stories of the week is that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao met face to face first time ever at an NBA game. They briefly met and talked which now has rumors circulating about their meeting. Some are saying they exchanged numbers, others are saying the fight is finalized and it also being suggested they would negotiate among themselves. Regardless of what was said and how things are handled I truly believe a fight between the two is going to happen. They both need it for their careers and the sport of boxing needs it because it is a dying sport with a not a lot of big stars in it. They need to make this fight happen and it needs to happen soon. I am sure there will be much more on this topic for weeks to come.
It’s been a busy week in the world of sports with championships being decided, legends being honored and futures that are looking brighter each day. Remember be safe, be strong, and believe in yourself. Controversy Doesn’t Come Without Criticism!
