Geography and Stuff...

Has anyone had a chance to look at the Senior Bowl Rosters? Since when are Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma and North Carolina in the North? And yet USC, UCLA, Oklahoma State, New Mexico, Arizona State, UNLV, UNC and NC State are represented on the Senior Bowl “North” team. All of this while Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio and, once again, Oklahoma and North Carolina are in the South. Maryland, Pitt, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Bowling Green, OU and Wake Forest are all represented on the South team. Isn’t this an NCAA event? This is how you represent higher learning? By telling the kids around the country watching this game (I’m sure there will be 5 or 6) that Ohio and Pennsylvania are south of Arizona and New Mexico? You know what’s south of New Mexico? Old Mexico! Then the Equator. Definitely not Pittsburgh or Bowling Green, Ohio! I guess we can’t expect the world of sports to teach us geography though. After all, for years the Indianapolis Colts were in the AFC East and the Arizona Cardinals were in the NFC East. The Atlanta Braves spent decades in the NL West.

This was the quote when Bill Belichick was asked about Brady’s ankle injury: "The injury report will be out next Wednesday and we're excited to give that to you. That form will be filled out completely and I can't wait to give that to everybody.” I’ve got 7-2 odds that Brady is listed as “Probable (Shoulder)” any takers? Seriously, does it matter? As I recall, in 2002, after sustaining an ankle injury in the AFC Championship game that January, which allowed Drew Bledsoe to momentarily regain his starting quarterback position, Brady returned to lead the Patriots to a last second victory in quite possibly the second greatest upset in Super Bowl history against “The Greatest Show on Turf.” If you’re Tom Coughlin, and you’ve got your team preparing for anyone else than Brady, you need your head examined.

I really feel for Sean Taylor’s daughter. I can’t imagine what it’s like to grow up without a father, especially when your father is murdered. That being said, when Chris Samuels and Chris Cooley wear Taylor’s number 21 during the Pro Bowl and then auction the jerseys off to benefit Taylor’s daughter, I can only think, “isn’t there somewhere that money would be better placed? Taylor was a 1st round draft pick. In four years, he’s made millions in 4 years as a premier player, not to mention signing bonus money. His daughter won’t be hurting for money. Wouldn’t the $15K-$30K that those jerseys yield be better spent on crime deterrent/prevention programs in Taylor’s homes in Miami or Washington D.C.?

A Republican last won the state of Massachussets in 1956. That may change in 2008. Hillary Clinton is a Senator from New York of all places, and her husband, Bill… you may have heard of him?... recently told reporters that he’d be pulling for his “home town” Giants… really Bill? Last I checked, you were from Arkansas. When did you establish a residence in Jersey? Way to cough up 15 electoral votes for the wife…

ESPN.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3210094) did a ranking of the 1-106 players on each Super Bowl roster this week. Out of the top 40, 6 of the top 10, 6 out of the 2nd 10, ½ of the third 10, and 7 of the 4th ten were Patriots. When 24 of the top 40 players (oh, and by the way, you only have 22 starters) are on the same team, that team is going to win. Basically, the Pats have two BACKUPS who are better than 6 Giants STARTERS!

Look for my First Round Mock NFL Draft next weekend.