Oscars 2011

It's that time of year again folks. Time for America's royalty to get all glittery, pat themselves on the back, and hand each other trophies.

As the Boom Roasted Sports resident film guy, I'm here to give you the official BRS Oscar preview. As usual, I have watched roughly half of the films that are nominated for awards. This preview is going to be a mix of who I think should win and who I think will win, because should win and will win are rarely ever the same in Hollywood. It's ironic that the academy calls everything not honorary an "award of merit" because the movie business is the one with the biggest disparity between merit/talent and success. (Isn't that right Katherine Heigel?)

With no further ado, here are a few things you need to know about tonight's award, by category, but only the ones that matter:

Best Picture -

Nominees:

127 Hours (aka James Franco chews his arm off. Thank you Greg Proops)

Black Swan (aka Blood and Feathers. Thank you Greg Proops' wife)

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

Who do I think will win: The Social Network

As of the moment I am writing this, I have seen five of these films. They are, in alphabetical order, Inception, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and Winter's Bone. I am going to try to watch The Kids Are Alright between the time I finish this blog and the start of the ceremony tonight.

I think The Social Network is going to win. It had all of the early momentum and all of the early buzz, although The King's Speech is picking up steam. Should it win? I don't know. All of these films are so different that I don't know how to compare them and I wouldn't be upset if any of them won...except for Toy Story 3. It was good, but not Best Picture material. (And as anyone who has read my Facebook page in the last day knows, I think Animal Kingdom should be on this list, but more on that later.)

Best Actor -

Nominees:

Javier Bardem - Biutiful

Jeff Bridges - True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network

Colin Firth - The King's Speech

James Franco - 127 Hours

Who will win: Colin Firth

This category might as well be called "Colin Firth and four smiling faces in tuxedos." He has won all of the major awards leading up to the Oscars. He was amazing, he deserves to win, and will win. Done and done.

Best Actress -

Nominees:

Annette Benning - The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone

Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Who will win: Natalie Portman

I come to this category from a position of almost complete ignorance. I've only seen one of the films but I can say that Jennifer Lawrence was great. That being said, all of the buzz is around Natalie Portman. She won the Golden Globe, so I'll say she wins tonight and I hope she doesn't laugh out loud again.

Best Supporting Actor -

Nominees:

Christian Bale - The Fighter

John Hawkes - Winter's Bone

Jeremy Renner - The Town

Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

Who will win: Christian Bale

From what I hear, this is a two man race between Bale and Rush. I haven't seen The Fighter but Bale seems to have all the momentum. I thought Hawkes and Renner were both great and I'm glad they are at least getting recognized, but in the end I think it will be Bale.

Best Supporting Actress -

Nominees:

Amy Adams - The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech

Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit

Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

Who will win: Melissa Leo

From what I hear this category is down to Steinfeld and Leo. I think most people will go with Leo, even though Steinfeld is reportedly fantastic and carries True Grit. All that being said, I would love to see Jacki Weaver win, just to see this movie get something. I'm stunned Animal Kingdom didn't get more love. It is a complex family crime drama and Weaver plays the matriarch who is watching her family slowly unravel in front of her. This film killed it at the Australian Film Institute's awards. (It is an Australian film by the way.) I don't know if Weaver had the best performance of these women, but I'd love to see this film get a little due.

Best Director -

Nominees:

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan

The Coen Bros. - True Grit

David Fincher - The Social Network

Tom Hooper - The King's Speech

David O. Russell - The Fighter

Who will win: David Fincher

And I think he totally deserves to. The genius of this movie is the tone and the fact that the energy and tone of the movie match that of the main character. Fincher is more responsible for that than any other person. Fincher, lock it up.

Documentary Feature -

Nominees:

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Gasland

Inside Job

Restrepo

Waste Land

Who will win: Inside Job

The only one of these I've seen is Exit Through the Gift Shop, but I did watch it twice. Does that count for something? Anyway, as much I would love to see Banksy win, I simply don't see it happening. I hear Inside Job, about the 2008 banking collapse, is excellent and is going to win. I also hear Restrepo is amazing, but Inside Job has all of the momentum right now.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) -

Nominees:

127 Hours

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

Who will win: The Social Network

Sort of by accident I have The Social Network winning Best Picture, Director, and now Screenplay. This is usually how these things work and I think that it could play into it winning this award as well. Although I think the much of the strength of this film was in the way it was directed, Aaron Sorkin provided great material.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Nominees:

Another Year

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

Who will win: Inception

Obviously, what Inception lacked in emotion it made up for in plot twists and turns. Here's the thing, all of Christopher Nolan's movies leave you asking a question...Was Guy Pearce's character in Memento really suffering from short-term memory loss, or was he faking it? (Spoiler Alert: He was faking. If you haven't seen that movie by now, tough tits. And while we're at it, Bruce Willis is dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense and Old Yeller dies.) Other questions asked after Nolan movies...Why did I spend good money to watch Insomnia? Why is Batman talking like that? In this one (I promise, no spoilers) it is whether the whole thing is real or another dream. The beauty of this movie is there isn't some fact to tip it one way or the other. No matter which way you believe, you can argue your case. Just brilliant.

The Aftermath

No sooner did I click "Publish" on last night's blog demanding the Nuggets move quicker with the Carmelo Anthony trade did a text come to my Blackberry from ESPN saying that the deal, in fact, had been finalized.

For those who were under a rock the last 18 or so hours and missed the Worldwide Leader's never-ending coverage of the biggest trade of 2011, here's how the deal broke down:

Denver received sharpshooting young forward Danilo Gallinari, versatile youngster Wilson Chandler, point guard Ray Felton, project big man Timofey Mozgov, New York's first round pick in 2014, a couple 2nd rounders and $3 million.

The Knicks, meanwhile, land the biggest fish in the deal by acquiring Anthony, one of the game's great young scorers. Alongside 'Melo, New York gets what's left of Chauncey Billups' rotting carcass, former New York foil Anthony Carter, Candice Parker's husband Shelden Williams and forward Renaldo Balkman(whom Knick fans will remember as the guy they booed mercifully when the Knicks selected Balkman with the 20th overall pick back in 2006). The Knicks also get former 2-time NCAA champion Corey Brewer from Minnesota, while the T'Wolves get back forward Anthony Randolph and big, fat, Eddy Curry.

So, who got the best of this deal? Well, time will answer that question after Anthony finally suits up as a New York Knick. While the real "winners" and "losers" won't truly be determined until this whole thing is finished playing out, here's a breakdown of who benefitted and suffered from last night's blockbuster. (Note: The winners and losers are in no particular order of importance.)

WINNERS

1. Carmelo Anthony: You have to tip your hat to the kid for successfully strong-arming his way to the place he truly wanted to be. He did what he could to stall out the Nets until the Knicks could come with a reasonable deal and now he's the new face of New York basketball. 'Melo's scoring, personality and swagger make him the best young matinee idol New York has seen since Derek Jeter and the fact that the Knicks are in the playoff race gives him an even better chance of becoming a Big Apple icon. Obviously, the reputation behind New Yorkers and their demands for instant success will put added pressure on Anthony, who didn't have to deal with nearly as big a fish bowl in Denver. Still, Melo wanted to be a Knick and he played his hand beautifully to make that happen. However, as you'll read later, it isn't all handshakes and Hallmark cards for New York's newest second coming.

2. LaLa Vasquez: In a lot of ways, 'Melo's new blushing bride made out to be a bigger winner from this deal than her star husband. By moving from Denver to New York, LaLa becomes the Tri-State's next Joumana Kidd. Granted, LaLa was already known to New Yorkers from her run as a VJ for MTV, but now she's associated as the main squeeze to New York's Next Big Thing. Brace yourselves, people: LaLa is about to take over New York. She's going to be all over your television. She'll be doing work for MSG. She'll be dropping bombs with Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97. She's a deep Knicks playoff run from being "That Girl" in the country's biggest market. Remember how Jason Kidd's wife was everywhere when the Nets went on their Finals run? History is about to repeat itself.

3. Denver Nuggets: While none of the spare parts Denver received in exchange for their star player are nearly as skilled as 'Melo, the sum of those parts do George Karl's team a lot more in the end. Gallinari's just 22 years old and he's in the middle of a season that saw him average 16 and 5 for the Knicks. Maybe he won't be the next Dirk Nowitzki like some of his press clippings predicted, but would it be so bad if he was the 2nd coming of a young Peja Stojakovic? Wilson Chandler, meanwhile, is only 23, and was averaging 16 and 6 with New York. Ray Felton was playing at an All-Star level for the first quarter of the season and he's just 26 and averaging 17 points and 9 assists. Mozgov gives the Nuggets size, even though he'll probably never pan out to be anything more than a poor man's Bill Wennington. With this deal, the Nuggets got younger(which is saying something, since the Nuggets were already pretty young), saved a boatload of money, and have the opportunity to further along the rebuilding process with some of these picks they've acquired(especially if they acquire more picks by swapping some of their New York haul).

4. New York Knicks: Pundits will say the Knicks gave up too much for Anthony, a guy who would have probably signed with New York in the offseason anyway without having to give up anything, and that very well may be true. The Knicks, however, couldn't afford to be cavalier with the thought process that they were going to get 'Melo one way or the other. GM Donnie Walsh is angling for an extension and the best way for him to grab one would have been to land Carmelo. If Anthony ends up on the Nets, the torches and pitchforks of Knicks faithful looking for Walsh's head would have been outside his door by nightfall. As much as this trade thins out the Knicks, the fact remains that the Knicks have two of the fifteen best players in the NBA on their squad. Does it make them better in the East? Right now, no. They aren't better than the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics or the Chicago Bulls and they don't play good enough defense to be above the Orlando Magic. However, the acquisition calms down the masses in MSG and if, IF, Melo's presence helps land Chris Paul next summer, it will be worth every penny.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Hold on, hold on, hear me out. There's a chance, a slim chance but a chance nonetheless, that Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph turn their careers around in Minnesota. Again, it's unlikely, but it's possible. You see what a change of scenery did for Michael Beasley? You see what Kevin Love is doing in 'Sota? Alright, alright, Randolph and Curry aren't as good as them, but Randolph's 21 and he still has potential even if, at times, he seems destined to be another one of the NBA's great young tragedies. As for Curry, he's a 28-year old expiring contract. Yes, he's out-of-shape and worthless, but if Minnesota can dangle him to grab something more worthwhile, the price to get such a trade chip was just an equally worthless young bust in Corey Brewer.

6. Chris Paul/Deron Williams/Dwight Howard: Those are 2012's Big 3 free agents and they now possess the blueprint on how to get whatever they want if they find themselves disenfranchised with their current arrangement. If Howard gets tired of Stan Van screaming in his ear and feels like he can be the next Shaq in L.A.? Now he knows what to do. If Deron wants to beat CP3 to the punch and find a new home with the Knicks, he can follow 'Melo's lead. If all the wheeling and dealing New Orleans has done to try to convince Paul to stay isn't enough, Paul can go back to his trade demands from earlier in the year. Carmelo's successful departure from the Rockies now allows the young free agents-to-be to carve their own niche in finding a way out of Dodge. Now, granted, I don't think Howard is aggressive enough to demand out of his situation in Orlando. Yes, the Magic are in cap hell after agreeing to take on the contracts of Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas, but unless Howard can go to a L.A. or a Boston, he's not going to find too many situations better than what he's in. The same can't be said for CP3 and Williams. The Jazz lost Carlos Boozer last year and have begun life without longtime coach Jerry Sloan. The downward spiral may be forthcoming and that might be all Deron needs as a reason to skip town. The same goes for Paul. The Hornets got off to a fast start but, without another big piece to complement Paul, they aren't going to do damage out West. Plus, Paul will no doubt be feeling the pressure from Amare Stoudemire and Anthony to come join them in New York. Given where he's at now, that's going to be hard to turn down.

6. The NBA: Basketball matters in New York again! The Knicks were already the 6 seed in the East after a surprising start but now the NBA has one of its most marketable stars in a large market. The Knicks might not be a powerhouse yet but, with 'Melo and Amare and coach Mike D'Antoni's frenetic offense, they are ready-for-primetime. Plus, with 'Melo in the East now, Commissioner Stern gets a few more Carmelo vs. LeBron games to televise. Like the Knicks, the NBA will benefit the most from Chris Paul joining forces with Melo and Amare. It will make the Knicks a powerhouse again as well as allow the league to what it has been wanting to do for a while now: Contract the Hornets. Melo to the Knicks adds revenue to the league's bottom line simply because, if the Knicks can make an ugly bastard like Patrick Ewing and a choke artist like Latrell Sprewell marketable, imagine what they can do with Anthony.

7. Los Angeles Lakers/San Antonio Spurs/Oklahoma City Thunder: The longer this Melo saga dragged on, the less of a threat Denver was going to be to the West's Big 3. Still, all three teams have to breathe a sigh of relief that they don't have to deal with Carmelo as often as they used to. Denver was always a team, on paper, that could have been the best in the West, but it had far too many headcases for George Karl to reel in. Now, they'll spend the next couple of years rebuilding, opening the door for the Clippers to fill the void as the NBA's next "coulda, shoulda, woulda" team. (Note: The Clippers would be winners here, too, but they are, in fact, THE CLIPPERS!)

LOSERS

1. Carmelo Anthony: Wait, how can Melo win AND lose, you ask? Well, he gets kudos for finding a way to fufill his dream of playing for the Knicks. The problem with that dream is that, by forcing his way to New York via trade, the Knicks don't have a team now that's even close to as good on paper as the one Melo just left. Denver might not have gotten the job done during Carmelo's time there, but you can't fault them for trying. They brought in Kenyon Martin, Chris "Birdman" Anderson, traded for Allen Iverson, then flipped Iverson into Chauncey Billups, they stole J.R. Smith and got another steal in drafting Ty Lawson out of UNC. If you compare what the Nuggets did to compel Melo to stay against what Cleveland did to build around LeBron, it's not even close in it going in Melo's favor. Now, Anthony is the lead dog on a two-man team. On top of that, who's playing defense for the Knicks? Amare was once one of the most athletic big men in the league, but knee injuries and surgeries have made him into the latest version of Antonio McDyess. Billups is still steady, but he's past his prime and the Knicks were probably better with Felton at the helm. Anthony's arrival to New York only has significance if they land Chris Paul next year. Yeah, it's a nice coup for the Knicks, but who is stopping Derrick Rose at the point or keeping Dwight Howard from dominating inside in the playoffs? Nobody.

2. New Jersey Nets: Ouch. When the Nets swung and missed on LeBron and D-Wade and even Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer this offseason, they at least had the Knicks to share their misery with(eventhough the Knicks did land one of the Big Six in Amare). Now, they not only have to swallow the fact that they missed out on Carmelo despite having the superior deal, they have to watch Melo light it up for their rivals across the river. Plus, who's coming to New Jersey now? You think Chris Paul is taking New Jersey over playing in New York or even staying in New Orleans? Doubtful. The same with Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. That leaves New Jersey with nobody to make their franchise face if and when this team moves to Brooklyn. Quite sad, isn't it, that a team with an aggressive billionaire owner and the most recognizable rap figure of the last 30 years can't reel in one young cornerstone to build around? Maybe Derrick Favors morphs into the next Karl Malone. Maybe Brook Lopez bounces back from his sophomore slump. Maybe Devin Harris moves up another notch. Still, it has to be disheartening that the fate of the franchise rests on three big maybes, instead of one sure thing.

3. Amare Stoudemire: For four months, Amare was the NBA's Frank White. Now, he gets to be the poor man's Shaq to Melo's poor man's Kobe. The presence of Anthony obviously takes pressure off Amare to carry the team and you have to think Amare wouldn't have pushed for Melo to come to New York if he didn't know it meant he'd have to take a back seat, but Amare was an MVP candidate for a portion of the season and, while Melo won't exactly reduce Amare to mop-up duty, it's tough knowing that he'll never be the big man on campus like he was the first half of the season(especially since he took a back seat for so long in Phoenix).

4. New Orleans Hornets/Utah Jazz/Orlando Magic: Be afraid. Be very afraid. Now that the Knicks have become significantly more enticing to potential free agents, it just got a lot harder for these three respective teams to keep their free agents-to-be. As I mentioned before, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Dwight Howard all have legit reasons to bounce after next season. The most likely of which is Paul since a. his team is being run by the league, who would have a more vested interest in seeing the league's best point guard in big market instead of drowning in New Orleans(yes, pun intended) and b. he's already played the "I want out" card recently. The Hornets may be better than CP3 anticipated but they are far from a contender. Maybe the bright lights and paparazzi isn't appealing to Paul and he'll choose to go the Kevin Durant route and stay put, but what about an outgoing poster boy like D-12? You think Dwight Howard doesn't want to have his thousand-watt smile on billboards in Times Square? You think Deron Williams doesn't want to go from the House That Mormons Built to rubbing elbows with Donald Trump in the big city? It's going to hard for these three teams to compete with what New York now offers, especially since there is very little time to whip their respective teams into something capable of competing with the Knicks.

4. NBA beat writers/ sports media outlets: So, um, NOW what do we write about? With the Melo trade over with and no other big names on the Trade Deadline docket, there's going to be a lull going from Carmelo 24/7 to covering the rest of the league. Baseball's a month or two away and football might be gone for a while, the only thing anyone bothered to write about for months was about Carmelo Anthony's future. Now, his future is his present. Sure, we can dip into what's on the horizon for the aforementioned Big Three of 2012, but we have 18 months to do that. All of the excitement has been diminished now that Anthony finally got the deal that we saw coming since Halloween. You know what that means? Prepare for farfetched rumors and sports talk radio producers filling air times with what-ifs and conjured up nonsense.

5. Ty Lawson: When Chauncey Billups went on the trading block, you would have thought it would have been that Denver wanted to free up the starting point guard gig for their young point man. Now, Lawson finds himself blocked by his former Tarheel teammate. Granted, Raymond Felton is a free agent after the season and Lawson could always take the job next year, but what happens if Felton plays his way onto the team next season? Time was, Lawson was the speedy alternative to the slow and plodding Billups, but Felton has the jets that can equal Lawson's, and with all these extra guards from the Melo deal, it will be tough to find room to play both UNC alums together.

New Rules 2011

With football over and baseball still a month away, it's hard finding a single topic to dedicate a decent amount of my trademark snark towards. I mean, look at our choices: Last Saturday's Slam Dunk Contest? Meh. NBA All-Star Game? Can't say I watched it. NASCAR? Not a sport. The pending NFL lockout? Too depressing. There were a few things that caught my eye over the last couple of weeks and I figured "Hey, it's a new year. Let's break out some New Rules!".

Done and done.

NEW RULE: Denver Nuggets management has to admit they don't know what the hell they're doing. Look, I'm Melo'd out(See what I did there?). First, the Nets are in. Then, they're out. Then, 'Melo might stay. Then, he wants to go. Here's what I know, as a man who has no inside ties to NBA front offices and gets all his news from the occasional SportsCenter segment and Twitter: Carmelo Anthony wants to be a Knick. Yes, the Nets offer up a superior deal to the one New York is offering....except for one key component: Anthony's signature on a contract extension. So, what's with all the pussy-footing, fellas? Melo wants the Knicks. The Knicks want Melo. The Nuggets want something back for their soon-to-be departed franchise player. Let's make a deal already! The Nuggets price is a bit extreme, as they are asking for damn near every Knick short of Chris Childs. If something is going to happen, Denver has to settle for about 75% of what they are asking for(maybe less) from New York. Still, that's better than zilch, right? In the time it has taken for the Nuggets to make a Melo trade, the Hornets have made four deals. FOUR! And they would have had a fifth if Milwaukee didn't shut the door on a trade for Corey Maggette. Four trades by a team that, just this summer, was also thinking of shopping its franchise guy(Chris Paul).

I wrote this a month ago and it still holds true now: The Nuggets have two choices, send Melo to the Knicks or keep him and force him to walk out on them this summer. That's it. He's going to brush off any deal on the table with anybody else because, as he's said 100 times, he wants to be a New York Knick. He wants the Garden. He wants Spike Lee doing the Dougie in the front row during the playoffs. He doesn't want to tag team with a walking stiff like Brook Lopez and what's left of Chauncey Billups. He doesn't want to wait two years to play in New York when he can do it right now. So, let's make this thing happen already, people.

NEW RULE: Michael Jordan has to come out of retirement again. Sports media types around the country pissed their pants a couple weeks ago because His Airness decided to come down from his ivory tower to scrimmage with the team he's helping destroy. To further add fuel to the "MJ's playing ball again!" fire, interim coach Paul Silas spouted off not too long after Jordan's run with the whippersnappers and declared MJ could still drop 20 on these young guys. The sad part is, Silas is probably right. At 48 with Joe Namath's knees, Jordan might be the physical equipment of that ashy dude at the park with the Horace Grant goggles and his knees wrapped like a mummy but, given how defense is played(or, not played, to be precise), is it farfetched to think Jordan couldn't come off the bench and drain a few shots against defensively-challenged opponents?

That's the question that needs to be answered. Look, I'm no Jordan fan, but this NBA season has been dominated by three stories: 'Melo's trade options, the Miami Heat, and the decline of Kobe and the Lakers. People aren't talking about Derrick Rose putting up MVP numbers in Chicago. People aren't hyping up the Spurs, who only have the West's best record. We need a new wrench thrown into this season. Brett Favre has already set the bar for once-great, past-their-prime, ego-driven icons making ridiculous comebacks. Jordan can shatter that. Who doesn't want to see Jordan's knees buckle trying to stand in front of a 270lb freight train like LeBron? Tell me Jordan carrying Charlotte to the 8th seed in the East won't make that first round matchup with Miami(or Boston) much more entertaining. Give us something new by giving us something old. Give us MJ.

NEW RULE: No more free-throw dunks. It's 2011. Surely, evolution has proved that today's athletes can come up with better ways to thrill us with their above-the-rim affairs than recycling a dunk made famous nearly forty years ago. When Dr. J did it, it was astounding. Then, Jordan took it to another level. Now? Every dickhead with a 40' vertical is doing it. Just as a rule of thumb, Slam Dunk champion hopefuls, if Brent Barry can do it, it's not cool.

Personally, I'd like to see the Slam Dunk contest abolished because they can never reel in any of the marquee names and we're left with 7-footers getting bush league perfect scores because they can do windmill dunks on a rim three feet above their heads. We used to be able to see 'Nique and Vince Carter and Kobe and Jordan.....now, we get Serge Ibaka. Alot of people think JaVale McGee got robbed in his loss in the Finals to Blake Griffin in Saturday night's Slam-boree. That may be true. After all, Blake dunking over the hood of the car may sound impressive, but call me when he's going over the roof of an Escalade or even this.

You know the real reason McGee lost to Griffin Saturday night? BECAUSE HE'S JAVALE MCGEE! He's the 3rd best player on the 2nd worst team in the Baby Brother Conference. Fans are supposed to vote for THAT guy over a man they've watched tear down the house on Sportscenter all season? In Griffin's backyard? Back to the free throw dunk, let's retire it. If we are going to continue to go with this charade of a competition, we should retire a famous dunk every year. This year, it will be the free throw line dunk. Next year, it can be Jordan's cradle dunk. After that, we can retire Vince Carter's 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, if for no other reason than it will be the only thing Vinsanity will be enshrined in other than a Tampax Hall of Fame.

NEW RULE: Albert Pujols can't get $300 million from the Cardinals unless he breaks both Roger Maris' 61 home runs record AND Hack Wilson's single-season RBI record(191 RBIs) THIS SEASON. I know, I know, "Terminator"(as he was aptly re-named in this space last year) deserves to be the league's highest paid slugger, but it's a recession, you animal! There was a 9.0 unemployment rate in this country last year(don't hold me to that. I Wiki'd it.), and we're supposed to sit back and accept a man getting $300 mil to work 6 months out of the year? Wasn't the last two A-Rod contracts hard enough to digest for blue collar America?

On top of that, Pujols is 31. Assuming he gets 10 years from St. Louis(a far-fetched assumption, but bare with me), he'll be making $30 million a year deep into his late 30's and as he's kicking 40's door down. Guys like Vlad Guerrero and Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez are struggling to find work in their late 30's(let alone $30 million a year), and Pujols(while, admittedly, better than all three) isn't head-and-shoulders better than those guys were in their primes. I agree Pujols needs to get paid and I'm sure fantasy baseball fanatics will be salivating over the words "Pujols" and "contract year" this season, but we have to draw the line somewhere with these exuberant contracts. Is it unfair to the best slugger of the last 40 years that the gluttonous paydays had to stop with him? Absolutely, but the alternative to that is Pujols not getting the money he wants from the Cards and we spend next winter watching Boston and New York(both the Mets and Yankees) battle over Phat Albert like two Kardashian sisters over Cam Newton while baseball in St. Louis(one of the best sports towns in America) dwindles into obscurity and irrelevance. That being said, if Pujols puts on a contract year statistical beatdown for the ages, it will be hard to justify NOT backing up a fleet of Brinks trucks in front of the man's feet. Still, that's where the bar should be set. Either set the world on fire, Albert, or quit reaching for the stars with these contract demands.

NEW RULE: It's time to lay pro wrestling to bed. This next paragraph or two will inevitably get me made fun of by Gabe and, if you have absolutely no interest in pro wrestling, you are more than welcomed to skip out on the blasphemy I'm about to spew. In the last few weeks, I've had a sort of wrestling epiphany. I re-watched "The Rise and Fall of WCW" on DVD, and even caught a glimpse of Monday Night Raw for the first time in ages. It was a clip of The Rock's return to the WWE. Within those two moments, I had two separate conversations with my friends about the glory days of wrestling that we remember and how it translates to what we have now. The consensus? Wrestling is dead. Now, I know pro wrestling still resounds in the hearts of so many in various regions throughout the country, but you know what, so does NASCAR. So does boxing. So does bowling, and cricket and soccer. If you're a fan of pro wrestling, you'd be a damned fool to say that what is being pawned off on us as "sports entertainment" is anywhere close to what we grew up with during the 90's(I'm assuming, of course, that you are around my age range, in your late 20's). I watched The Rock go into his usual gimmick and, while entertaining, it made me sad for the state of affairs wrestling now resides under. In the post-Nipplegate Era, entertainment can no longer be risky. Sure, you can have some off-color jokes like you see on South Park or Family Guy, but what made wrestling enjoyable a decade ago won't fly in the PC world we now live in. That's a strong reason for the decline in pro wrestling's entertainment. Another big reason is the lack of competition WWE now faces. After WWE chairman Vince McMahon bought out its main competitor, WCW, there was no rival to offer up a counter punch. WWE's attempt at trying to assimilate both worlds failed because there's only so much room for so much talent, and when Chris Benoit went off the deep end, pro wrestling as a whole had to reassess how it did business. What we have now is a scaled down version of what used to be "sports entertainment". There's no DX chops. No Austin 3:16s. No middle fingers. No sexual innuendo. It's become Sports Illustrated for Kids. In the late 90's, we had Rock, and Austin, and Undertaker, and what was left of guys like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. Now? You have John Cena, who used to be so popular that he became unpopular. People got tired of liking him so much(except women, of course). Perhaps it's that I've matured so much in my prime years that I now find what the WWE offers to be foolish, but there was a certain charge that flowed through me watching the old WCW glory days and watching The Rock go into his schtick. It was a feeling of nostalgia combined with the fact that we will never get to that point again. The once self-proclaimed "male soap opera" will never match the edginess and violence and envelope-pushing of 10-12 years ago.

....And that's why it should end. If there's anything I've learned over the last few episodes of WWE's offerings that I've seen, it's that the biggest draws the WWE has to reel in its former hardcore fans is when they bring back guys like The Rock or like they did a year ago in bringing back Bret "The Hitman" Hart. In other words, they've become a business banking on "Old Timers' Night". WWE will still generate money with people who refuse to give up on it and will go down as the ship is sinking, but there's something to be said about quitting while you're ahead. Most of your marquee superstars are making side money doing movies these days anyway. If The Rock was ballsy enough to give up on a wrestling career that saw him make his mark as one of the 5 or 10 most popular wrestlers of our generation to go film tankjobs like "Gridiron Gang" and "Fast Five", it has to tell you something about how he saw the future of pro wrestling. That was almost a decade ago. Here we are now. Pro wrestling still catches a few eyes, much like a Manny Pacqauio fight will get hardcore fans of the sweet science to break out their wallet, but it's a shell of what it once was. So, my proposal to WWE is this: Either go back to being crotch-chopping, bird-flipping, chair-swinging, swearing rebels that made censors sweat and put fear into sponsors........or give it up. Nobody wants family-friendly pro wrestling and the people that do need to stop kidding themselves. Wrestling was once a threat to Monday Night Football. Now, it's hardly more entertaining than an episode of SVU.

Milk Carton All-Star of the Week: J.R. Rider

In honor of tonight's ho-hum Slam Dunk Contest, we thought it would be fitting to hand out this week's MCAS to a former Slam Dunk champion.......and since Harold Miner has already received the Milk Carton All-Star of the Week, the award got passed to the next best thing: Isaiah "J.R." Rider.

J.R. Rider was the 5th pick of the 1993 NBA Draft, out of UNLV(back when it mattered to come out of UNLV), by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rider had a couple promising seasons with the T'Wolves, proving himself as a promising scorer averaging more than 16 points per game in his first three seasons. For all of his scoring acumen, however, Rider was also a Grade A knucklehead. He routinely got into spats with Minnesota's front office, was convicted of fifth-degree assault for kicking a female sports bar manager, and was arrested for marijuana possession shortly before he was shipped to Portland in the summer of '96. During his Minnesota run, J.R. did manage one accomplishment: winning the 1994 Slam Dunk Contest(which, suspiciously enough, took place in Minneapolis).

It didn't take long for Rider to fit in perfectly with his "Jailblazer" brethren. He was convicted of marijuana possession in October of '96 and got hit with a 12-game suspension for spitting on a heckler. When Rider was on the court and not spitting or kicking fans, his numbers were solid, save for the '98-'99 season where his scoring average dipped to 13 ppg. That was his final year in Portland, as he was shipped to Atlanta along with Jim Jackson in exchange for sharp-shooter Steve Smith. Once in the A-T-L, all hell broke loose. The most glaring of Rider's many troubles during his one season with the Hawks came when he was fined $200,000 by the league for refusing to take a drug test amidst speculation that....wait for it....he may have smoked weed in an Orlando hotel room. Rider averaged 19.3 points per game while with Atlanta, but Hawks management grew tired of J.R.'s nonsense and granted him his release. The next season, he landed in Los Angeles and won a ring with the Lakers, despite not being added to the playoff roster. After just one season there, Rider signed with Denver, where he lasted all of 10 games with the Nuggets. It was the last time he would step foot on an NBA hardwood.

With his NBA career over, Rider's life went, well, pretty much like his life during his NBA career went: With alot of police blotter. He was sentenced to seven months in prison after violating a court order from a previous arrest that demanded he stay out of Marin City, California, after he was arrested for kidnapping a woman in January 2006. Two years later, he was arrested for unlawful firearm possession and grand theft following an altercation with a taxi driver. A couple months after that, Rider was arrested AGAIN for numerous charges including possession of a controlled narcotic substance, evading police, giving police false information and driving on a suspended license.

Oh, but wait, there's more. A couple weeks after his narcotic possession arrest, Rider was cuffed again on a auto theft charge. After a brief(one game) comeback with the North Texas Fresh of the ABA in October of 2009, Rider was arrested in April of last year for assaulting his fiance. A couple days after that, he got another arrest for kidnapping his one month old son.

So, let's give a round of applause for the inspiration behind the "Grand Theft Auto" series and Ron Artest's role model......Isaiah "J.R." Rider, ladies and gentlemen......he was probably arrested twice in the time it took me to write this.

Making Good on a Threat

I've been making a certain threat to Dave for a long time...that one of these days I was going to say "Fuck it." and start writing about English Premier League soccer on this blog.

Well, today is the day I make good on that threat, and the photo below is part of the reason why....

For the uninitiated, the man in red in the photo above is Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, a man who is arguably the most famous soccer player in England. (For a great photo essay of this shot, go here.)

Here is a little history for some context: he scored his first premier league goal before his 17th birthday, he was the youngest person ever called up to the English national team, he has played for Man U since age 18 (he's 25 now), and since David Beckham's retirement has become the face of English soccer.

He scored this bicycle kick goal in the 78th minute of Man U's game today against crosstown rivals Manchester City. The goal put United up 2-1 with only 12 minutes to play, sealing the game. Not only was it huge because of the rivalry, but also because Man U is in first and Man City is third in the Premier League standings. The standings would have gotten much tighter if City won this match.

I was watching this match live and jumped off my chair when Rooney made that kick. And for the record, I'm a Chelsea fan and I was pulling for City to win this match. (Man U is in first place, they are the Yankees to City's Mets, City was the visiting team, not supposed to win, David not Goliath, blah blah blah.)

It's rare you ever see a bicycle kick work. It's even rarer to see it work so well the goal keeper doesn't even make a move toward the ball. And it's rarer still to see a goal that exciting decide a match with so much importance. It was simply stunning.

Rooney said it was the greatest goal he's scored. Man U's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said it's the greatest strike he's seen in 25 years at that stadium. I have to agree.

Wayne Rooney made a bit of history today and I'm glad I was watching as it happened.

The Worm Gets A Little Respect

The Detroit Pistons have announced that they are going to retire Dennis Rodman's no. 10 jersey (the number he wore in the Motor City) at halftime of their game April 1st.

Depending on your age, and cultural awareness, you could know Rodman because of any number of things. To you he could be:

- The guy who was naked on a motorcycle on the cover of his book.

- The guy was in a coffin on the cover of another book.

- The guy who did a book signing in a wedding dress.

- The guy who stepped to Clint Black on the Celebrity Apprentice.

- A professional wrestler. (Dave?)

- A two time co-star of Jean Claude Van Damme in Simon Sez and Double Team.

- A three time Razzie winner for the above mentioned films.

- A tattooed, pierced, multi-colored hair, NBA sideshow.

- A two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, seven time All NBA Defensive First teamer, integral piece of five NBA championship teams (including the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls, perhaps the greatest single season NBA team ever), and arguably the greatest rebounding forward in NBA history.

I'm a little young to remember Rodman on the Pistons, but I clearly remember when he was a member of my beloved San Antonio Spurs. I remember reading box scores in the newspaper (if any youngsters need me to explain those five words, feel free to email me) and smiling when I saw David Robinson and Rodman on top of the list of leaders in rebounding. Robinson was always second, with something around ten or eleven rebounds a game, and fractions of a board ahead of the guy in third. Rodman was always a clear six or seven boards ahead of The Admiral. I was always baffled by the fact that Rodman was able to do that from the forward position, but I guess they didn't call him The Worm for nothing.

I was upset when the Spurs traded Rodman to the Bulls for a bag of basketballs named Will Perdue. It was hard to get excited about a guy who backed up Bill Cartwright and was sent packing because of the emergence of Luc Longley. (Who? Exactly.) I knew San Antonio was going to miss Rodman's rebounding and defensive hustle. I told a friend of mine at the time, who was a huge Bulls fan, about the trade and he thought I was making a joke. Hopefully these reports aren't a joke. (Anyone else notice the Pistons are reportedly honoring him on April 1st?)

Rodman deserves this, if for no other reason than to start to legitimize his career and his contributions to some great teams, which are sometimes overshadowed by his personal antics.

Dear Christina

Dear Christina Aguilera,

I fancy myself as somewhat of a gentleman, so I'll spare cutting your mic off like I did to Lil Wayne for your hibachi-style butchering of the National Anthem in front of 100+ thousand people at Cowboys Stadium and another 111 million watching at home on Super Bowl Sunday. You've taken enough of a PR beating over the last 72 hours, as is. It's funny because, had someone told me beforehand that both you and the Black Eyed Peas were going to be the musical guests at the Super Bowl, I totally would have bet the house on Fergie being the one that shit themselves on the national stage. Look, you're human, darling. You fucked up. We all make mistakes. After all, you aren't the first to embarrass yourself singing one of the most well-known songs in this country's history. There was poor little Natalie Gilbert, who had to be saved by Mo Cheeks while doing the Anthem at a Blazers game. There was that fat cow Roseanne Barr, who got booed off the field in San Diego. And who can forget U.S. Olympian Carl Lewis sounding like he squirted in the throat with lemon juice? Your pipes are far greater than those three idiots. Who are these nobodies on the Internet to criticize you? You're Christina "Motherfuckin'" Aguilera! You've got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You've won Grammy Awards. You've sold millions of records. You're the last remaining member of that vaunted late-90's bubble gum pop outbreak, which was like the 2000 NBA Draft in terms of talent depth. Shit, you're nominated for a Golden Globe. Don't let these people throw darts at you!

That being said, let me offer some friendly advice from a guy who doesn't have a stitch of musical talent to one of the best singers of our generation: Hang 'em up, sweetheart. It's over. Look, your resume is far more impressive than that ditz Jessica Simpson and you're far less batshit crazy than your old rival Britney Spears but, let's face it, from here on out, you're "The Girl Who Screwed Up The National Anthem At The Most Watched Television Event in History". I don't think there's any coming back from that. The music business is going down the toilet as it is. You have idiots like Drake making hit records. Kids these days are popping the headphones to their iPod into tin ears. This is a era that preys on people making public blunders like you did Sunday night. Why do you think Us Weekly is still in circulation?

On top of that, and I know this is going to come off as shallow but, you're not as attractive as you were in your prime. Look, I'm no prize myself, but even I can see that the baby fat and the bad blonde hair has turned you from Cindy Crawford to Cyndi Lauper. I'm sure we're a year away from you popping out another pup, hitting the gym like Rocky when he was training for Drago, and hitting the magazine covers looking like the second coming of Brooklyn Decker. I mean, you're only 30. Still, you're a bad nose job from being Lady Gaga's twin sister. Just sayin'.

You can't even try to milk Hef for some Playboy money like Kristy Swanson did to stay relevant until you at least start hitting Gold's 5 times a week. I know that's a bit harsh, but it's the truth, my dear. You used to be one of the ten best looking women on the planet. Now, you're getting passed up for Aubrey O'Day.

Maybe I'm being a bit rough on you. All I'm saying is lay low for a little bit. Focus on having your baby. Get back in shape. Call up VH1 for a reality show. Do a few indie films. Start dating "The Situation", and come back and see us. Sunday night was a Mike Tyson punch to your career. It's going to be tough to not be ridiculed for a very long time for that, but you have the pipes, kid. In a few years, when Glee is cancelled and people stop caring about the Carrie Underwoods and Taylor Swifts of the world, you can come back better than ever.

Until then, consider your mic cu.......nah, I think I've laid enough on you for one day.

Sincerely,

Dave

To The Victor......

The power of the Super Bowl, or at least winning the Super Bowl, is that it seemingly rewrites storybooks. It is as if the confetti that cascades from the ceiling during the postgame celebration is made with some kind of career cleanser.

For Aaron Rodgers, a win in Dallas Sunday would have removed him from the shadow of Brett Favre and moved him into the place where he rightfully belongs: Among the short list of the NFL's great QBs.

For Ben Roethlisberger, a win in Dallas would have put him in elite company as one of only five QBs to win three Super Bowls(Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady being the others). Most importantly, it would have momentarily made people forget all about Roethlisberger's sexual assault-ridden offseason.

Unfortunately, only one man could have gotten what he wanted, and that man was Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers became the first Packers quarterback to win a Super Bowl MVP since Bart Starr in the Super Bowl II. By winning the MVP, he managed to achieve something his legendary predecessor couldn't and punctuated the epitome of an "Eff You" season from Green Bay to Brett Favre. That being said, and this is not to take anything away from the greatest sporting moment in the Leonardis house in 12 years, the position that Rodgers is in right now, oddly enough, is the same one Roethlisberger was in after his first Super Bowl.

Back in 2005, it was Big Ben who took a scrappy 6-seed Steelers team, conquered three giants on the road and marched into Super Sunday and walked away with a victory. Rodgers' night was spectacular, but it had been done before. Sunday night, however, the tables had turned on Big Ben. Rather than be celebrated(even in a loss) as someone who persevered through a PR nightmare to lead a team with the worst offensive line in Super Bowl history to within a final drive of winning his third ring, Roethlisberger found himself still the comic foil for transgressions that may or may not have occurred in Georgia bathroom stall.

Instead of a great game between two outstanding young QBs, many on the various social media platforms(including myself, who never passes up a chance to take a few shots at...well, anyone) made Rodgers and company's Super Bowl win into a triumph of good over evil. Don't believe me? Here's a sample of some tweets from people with a bit more money and fame than yours truly:

@rosemcgowan: Yes!!! Hooray for the non-raping quarterback!

@thefredsavage: My congratulations to the Packers for showing that Roethlisberger can only score when 3 of his bodyguards block the exit to the men's room.

I'm not saying we should be ashamed for taking shots at Roethlisberger or even saying Savage and McGowan were out of line for saying what they said. However, let the record show that Big Ben was never actually CONVICTED of rape. That's not to say that it didn't actually happen because, Lord knows, that Georgia assault case was handled with the clumsiness of the Keystone cops, but at what point do we let Big Ben off the hook for crimes he was only accused of? Next week? Next year? Next Super Bowl? Never?

Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg and is doing time for his stupidity. He deserves our ridicule. Donte Stallworth actually killed a man with his car and got slapped on the wrist with a 30-day sentence. He deserves our outrage. If Michael Vick can win Comeback Player of the Year without the overwhelming cacophony of dog-fighting jokes and PETA picketing outside the league office, isn't it time to move on from Roethlisberger's trysts?

Maybe it's not, but it makes you wonder what the world would be saying about Ben had he did to the Packers Sunday night what he did to the Cardinals in 2008 in orchestrating a masterful 4th quarter comeback with less than two minutes to go to win the Super Bowl. You wonder if the storybook ending written for Ben would be different had he emerged from Dallas victorious instead of a couple incompletions short of a comeback. Kobe Bryant's rape allegations seem like a distant memory because, in the time that has elapsed since then and now, he won a few championships and is now billed more as a better "teammate"(even after he threw Andrew Bynum under the bus during a YouTube video taken at the mall and spent weeks demanding to get the hell out of L.A.). Winning seems to always change everything. As the cliche goes, "to the victor, belongs the spoils". Rodgers brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown and he'll spend the next few months of his life riding high. In the meantime, short of Christina Aguilera's O.J.-style butchering of the National Anthem and Fergie's atrocious singing during an equally-horrid Black Eyed Peas halftime show, the biggest tragedy Sunday night was the fact that this mess still found its way into the postgame conversations of a phenomenal football game and that a guy who has done everything he can to turn things around still finds his face on the dart boards of so many.

Look, I'm not telling you how to perceive Ben Roethlisberger, but the fact of the matter is, only two people know what really happened on that fateful night in Milledgeville and, whether you agree with the end result or not, the accused never spent a day in jail for what was believed to have happened. Ben Roethlisberger took the field Sunday with the chance to rewrite his story and he failed.

That makes him the defeated. It doesn't make him guilty.

Super Bowl XLV Preview

Super Bowl XLV kicks off in a few hours. Since hours upon hours have been wasted on various networks on hyperbole for this Packers-Steelers clash, I'll save you all the obligatory preamble stuff.

It's time to touch all bases on what could be the last football game for quite some time:

Over/Unders(Note: I made most of these up)

Number of times Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reference Brett Favre: 4.....bet the over. There's a lot to talk about with these two teams. Both QBs coming full circle, the magnificent play of these two defenses, the Packers bouncing back from 15 players on the IR, Matthews vs. Polamalu, etc. Still, all the talk leading up to this game has been about a guy who won't even be on the field: Brett Favre. Since commentators can't go a Packers game without mentioning Favre, you can expect Aikman and Buck to go the Favre well early and often. Every Rodgers shovel pass will be "Favre-esque". Every lull in action will be filled with the story of how Rodgers became starter and Favre became persona non grata. Every flash back will feature moments from Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII(the two Favre Super Bowls). The only story that has a chance to be talked about more than Favre is Big Ben's tawdry sexual assualt allegations.

Roughing the Passer penalties for Steelers LB James Harrison: 2.....push. I'd like to think that Harrison's impact won't be nearly as big as its been in week's passed because he'll be up against Pro Bowl LT Chad Clifton. That's not to say Harrison won't try to knock A-Rod's head off to give Pittsburgh a better advantage by forcing Green Bay to trot out Matt Flynn. Rodgers does a better job of getting the ball out on time than he did last year, but this offensive line of Green Bay's is still hardly a brick wall. The reason I go push here is because I don't Harrison will be as big a factor as his bookend teammate LaMarr Woodley(who will be up against rookie RT Bryan Bulaga). Still, Harrison has a reputation to keep up and, with refs and league execs not wanting the thrill of this game sapped out by dirty play, expect the whistles to be blown at full force.

300 Yards Passing For Aaron Rodgers.....under: The Packers are going to spread it out and exploit the weaknesses of this Steelers secondary, but Pittsburgh isn't dumb enough to give Rodgers anything deep. I expect there to be a lot of quick slants and screens to start out as McCarthy brainlessly gets conservative early on to avoid turning the ball over. Rodgers is obviously the key to Green Bay's success but he proved last week that he doesn't have to ball out for the Packers to win. With Green Bay wanting to protect Rodgers from this Steelers pass rush, I think we'll see quite a bit of James Starks with Rodgers pulling out a deep bomb or two. Final numbers for A-Rod: 22-30, 2 TD, 1 pick, 268 yards.

300 Yards Passing for Ben Roethlisberger....under: The Packers' secondary is far better than the one Big Ben roasted for 500 yards in their 2009 showdown. On top of that, Ben's offensive line is much worse and Green Bay's pass rush is far more aggressive in Year 2 under Dom Capers. Plus, Pittsburgh would be smart to unleash Rashard Mendenhall on the ground against an average Packer run defense. Roethlisberger can buy time with his quick feet and huge body, so a few bombs to Mike Wallace will happen. Still, the Packers don't want a repeat of last year and I think they'll be a bit more diligent against the pass this time around. Final numbers for Big Ben: 19-27, 257 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

2 sacks for Clay Matthews.....Over: I'm looking at 3 sacks here for "The Ultimate Warrior". There's a part of me that thinks he takes losing the Defensive MVP award to Troy Polamalu as a slight and goes on an absolute tear on this terrible Steelers offensive line. If Ben gets free from the initial pass rush, nobody will be better at running down the big fella than #52. Anyone who watched clips of Matthews putting Winston Justice on his ass in the Wild Card game against Philly should expect more of the same in this one. The only thing standing in Clay's way will be a few obligatory trips and holds from Flozell Adams. Needless to say, I like Clay a lot tonight.

4 total turnovers for both teams.....push: I predicted a INT a piece for both QBs, and that may be a bit generous if this game becomes a shootout like it's projected to be. It remains to be seen whether the big stage scares the inexperienced Packers here. They haven't had fumbling issues so far, but if there's a butterfingers candidate, it's WR James Jones. With Donald Driver iffy, Jones is going to see a lot of work opposite Greg Jennings. Jones cost the Packers a win against Chicago early in the regular season with a couple costly fumbles. He also got the hands of stone in the Wild Card game against the Eagles. I don't want to jinx my own team here but if anyone seems primed for the goat horns, it may very well be James Jones(although Mike McCarthy is a good choice as well). With two ballhawking defenses like this, there's going to be a lot of strip attempts and corners jumping routes. 2 turnovers a piece isn't impossible, so that's what I'm riding with.

100 yards rushing for Rashard Mendenhall....over: Mendenhall is the kind of back the Packers don't want to see: a powerful inside runner with speed who can break tackles on a whim. The Packers run D hasn't been as stout as it should be and, even with the Steelers' offensive line missing a crucial piece in C Maurkice Pouncey, I like Mendenhall's chances of having a big day if Mike Tomlin doesn't get tempted to go pass-for-pass with Green Bay. The Packers front three is much better than the Jets, so Mendenhall will have to be a bit more elusive than he was two weeks ago. Regardless, the Steelers need Mendenhall to keep Green Bay's D honest and, if there's an Achilles heel for these Packers, it's stopping the run. Final numbers for Mendy: 18 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD.

100 yards receiving for Greg Jennings.....under: The Packers are going to spread the ball around. Jennings clearly has the speed advantage over Ike Taylor but Rodgers ability to find him deep will depend on the time A-Rod has to throw. Rodgers is going to want to get that ball out fast because Woodley and Harrison will be coming in quick. If there's an 100-yard WR at all in this game, I'd put money on it being Mike Wallace, simply because he's the Steelers best big play guy.

The X-Factors

Pittsburgh: TE Heath Miller - The Packers' secondary is going to have its hands full with Hines Ward and Mike Wallace, and with Ben feeling the constant motor of Clay Matthews breathing down his neck, he's going to need a safety valve. That safety valve will be Miller, who came up with quite a few clutch catches against Baltimore in the divisional round. Green Bay's LBs are going to have to be strong in coverage to keep Miller from busting loose and it's a lot for a defense to account when dealing with two solid WRs and a soft-handed, big-bodied tight end while trying to take down a massive QB who is best when throwing on the move. Miller needs to be Ben's guy to keep the chains moving and wear out this injury depleted Packers defense.

Green Bay: DE Cullen Jenkins - NT B.J. Raji got quite a bit of the press as the extroverted star of this Packers' defensive line but, arguably, Green Bay's 2nd best pass rusher is Jenkins. Jenkins will be playing with a heavy heart after spending most of the week dealing with his missing father(who was inevitably found). While Raji certainly has a good chance of dominating the line of scrimmage with Pouncey on the sidelines, the Steelers would be wise to keep an eye on Jenkins too. Jenkins had 7 sacks in the regular season and, at 6'2, 305 lbs, he's a lot for an undermanned offensive line to handle. With the protection focused on Matthews(and even Raji), I see Jenkins exploiting a one-on-one occasionally and making his presence felt.

Super Bowl Unsung Heros

Pittsburgh: C Doug Legursky - All Legursky has to do is fill in for an All-Pro center who helped anchor one of the best rushing attacks in football and play admirably against one of the best 3-4 defensive lines in the NFL on the biggest stage of his career. Sounds simple enough, right? Again, the Steelers need to establish the run to keep Green Bay guessing and Legursky is going to have his hands full with a beast like Raji who is as quick as he is strong. If Legursky flunks in keeping Raji or any of the other Packers defenders at bay, the Steelers are probably toast. A QB, even one of Roethlisberger's size, can't expect to produce with an inside rush constantly in his face. The Steelers' offensive line has gotten lucky enough given all the patchwork it has utilized all season. Legursky has to be its next big miracle.

Green Bay: LB Erik Walden - While this game has been billed as a showdown between two great young QBs, their success depends on how they handle two great defenses. Walden has emerged as of late in filling in for Frank Zombo(who was filling in for Brad Jones). He's an athletic pass rusher who, like Jenkins, will benefit from attention being paid to the bigger names on this defense. Walden's strong play against Chicago in Week 17 helped get the Packers in the playoffs and a big game here would punctuate a rollercoaster season for this Packers defense. Now, prior to the NFC Championship, Sam Shields would get the call here but his 2-INT day against Chicago has made him less of a secret. The same goes for RB James Starks, who is the postseason's leading rusher but will probably have a tougher time adding to those numbers against a stonewall Steelers run defense. A big game by Starks, though, could make things interesting next season in Green Bay's backfield with Ryan Grant coming back from ankle surgery and Brandon Jackson a free agent.

Finally.....the only paragraph that matters......

Packers (-2.5) vs. Steelers

Pick: Steelers - Look, the reverse jinx has gotten us this far, right? The Packers are the better team but they are also the least experienced. Pessimistic Packers fans like myself have been waiting for Mike McCarthy to crop dust the field with brain farts this entire postseason. Does it happen here? That remains to be seen. Still, the worst thing that could happen to these Packers was the showering of hype they've received over the last two weeks combined with Vegas making them nearly a field goal favorites against a team that won a Super Bowl two years ago and is coming into this game as the 2 seed in a stronger conference. Roethlisberger vs. Rodgers will be one for the ages but the physicality of this Steelers defense worries me some, as does the tendency in these playoffs for the refs to slurp the Steel Curtain. Player safety will be paramount here so expect a few chintzy roughing calls. The same can be said for pass interference. Given the aggressiveness of both defenses, their inability to avoid dumb penalities, and the frequency of passing from both offenses, we could see a lot of non-Terrible Towel related yellow laundry on the field. Game plan will be key. Pittsburgh has a better chance of having success mixing it up on offense given Green Bay's weakness against the run. Green Bay, however, has the better QB and there is nobody in the building who wants to bury the memory of Brett Favre more than Aaron Rodgers. Experience didn't help Indianapolis last year against the "underdog" Saints but lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. I expect a MVP-calibur day from Mendenhall as both QBs trade strikes. Inevitably, McCarthy blows this one down the stretch and the Steelers win by a field goal.

Final: Pittsburgh 24, Green Bay 21.......Dave Leonardis obscenities: 167.

MVP: Ben Roethlisberger - QBs always have the edge in the MVP voting and Big Ben has missed out on two MVPs in his previous two Super Bowls. I like Mendenhall as the dark horse here but something tells me Tomlin will ratchet up the passing game to try to blow for blow with Green Bay(as opposed to running it down the Packers' throats, wearing down the D and keeping A-Rod off the field). That may be at Tomlin's demise but, from a storyline standpoint, I can see Big Ben going from pariah to Super Bowl MVP. Obviously, as a Packers fan waiting 12 years for another Super Bowl and as someone who wants to see Aaron Rodgers get that monkey off his back, I'm hoping I'm dead wrong with these last two paragraphs......but you never know. That's why we play the games.

Dumb Honest Question of the Week

One would think that picking in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft should make you more likely to improve on the upcoming season because, in theory, you have more of a selection of the best talent than the team picking, say, 26th. However, that hasn't been the case for quite some time now. The Detroit Lions have picked in the Top 10 for seven of the last ten years and they couldn't sniff the playoffs with Erin Andrews' nose. Cleveland has made the playoffs once, despite picking in the Top 10 eight times since their return to the NFL in 1999(they didn't have a 1st round pick in 2008, and they traded out of the top 5 in 2009 when they passed up on Mark Sanchez to move down and take center Alex Mack).

That leads us to this week's Dumb Honest Question.....

....Is it worth it to pick in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft anymore?

Critics will point to the exuberant rookie contracts handed out to Top 10 picks hamstringing salary cap strapped teams. Certainly, that theory has some merit, but the high failure rate of these high picks is more the cause than their hefty salaries. Is JaMarcus Russell's contract such a backbreaker if he's a 2-time Pro Bowl QB leading the Raiders to back-to-back AFC West titles instead of a Purple Drank-slurping, fat lard who can't even score a job in the UFL? Bad management is the root cause for teams routinely picking high every year. Case and point, Matt Millen, who crippled the Lions with bad pick after bad pick year in and year out. Do we think differently of Detroit if Millen hits on Charles Rogers and Joey Harrington? Probably, but he didn't so we don't. Regardless, teams are striking out at a rate that would make Mark Reynolds squeamish. In the last year's draft, only two teams picking in the Top 10 made the playoffs(Kansas City and Seattle, and the Seahawks made it with a 7-9 record). The year before, the same result: 2(although you can make the case for 3, since the Jets technically picked in the Top 5 after trading up to take Sanchez. The Bengals and Packers are the others).

Conversely, teams that routinely pick near the end of the Draft have done well for themselves. A lot of that can be attributed to front office savvy and their success in hitting on later round picks but it's still dumbfounding that teams picking at the bottom are outdoing their higher-picking counterparts. After all, this isn't fantasy football. We aren't running a snake draft here where teams picking at the end in Round 1 go on to pick early in Round 2. To take this case deeper, here's a look at all 12 playoff teams, their top 5 players and where they were picked:

AFC

1. New England Patriots

a. Tom Brady(6th round, 2000)
b. Wes Welker(undrafted free agent, acquired from Miami for a 2nd round pick)
c. Vince Wilfork(21st overall pick, 2004)
d. Logan Mankins(32nd overall pick, 2005)
e. Devin McCourtey(27th overall pick, 2010)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

a. Ben Roethlisberger(11th overall pick, 2004)
b. Troy Polamalu(16th overall pick, 2003)
c. James Harrison(undrafted)
d. Casey Hampton(19th overall pick, 2001)
e. Hines Ward(3rd round, 1998)

3. Indianapolis Colts

a. Peyton Manning(1st overall, 1998)
b. Dwight Freeney (11th overall, 2002)
c. Reggie Wayne (30th overall, 2001)
d. Dallas Clark (24th overall, 2003)
e. Bob Sanders (2nd round, 2004)

4. Kansas City Chiefs

a. Jamaal Charles(3rd round, 2008)
b. Dwayne Bowe (23rd overall, 2007)
c. Matt Cassel (7th round pick by New England in 2005, acquired for a 2nd round pick)
d. Eric Berry(5th overall pick, 2010)
e. Brandon Flowers(2nd round pick, 2008)

5. Baltimore Ravens

a. Ray Lewis(26th overall, 1996)
b. Ed Reed (24th overall, 2002)
c. Haloti Ngata(12th overall, 2006)
d. Terrell Suggs(10th overall, 2003)
e. Ray Rice (2nd round, 2008)

(Editor's Note: There are few things I am more certain of than my friend Carlos reading the Ravens rankings and taking issue with the order. I'd bet money on it.)

6. New York Jets

a. Darrelle Revis(14th overall, 2007)
b. Santonio Holmes(25th overall by Pittsburgh in 2006, acquired for a 5th round pick)
c. David Harris(2nd round, 2007)
d. Mark Sanchez(5th overall, 2009)
e. Nick Mangold(29th overall, 2006)

NFC

1. Atlanta Falcons

a. Matt Ryan(3rd overall, 2008)
b. Roddy White(27th overall, 2005)
c. Michael Turner(5th round pick, 2004 by SD, signed by ATL in 2008)
d. John Abraham(13th overall pick by NYJ, 2000)
e. Tony Gonzalez(13th overall pick by KC in 1997, acquired for 2nd round pick)

2. Chicago Bears

a. Brian Urlacher(9th overall, 2000)
b. Julius Peppers(2nd overall pick, 2002, by Carolina, signed as a free agent in 2010)
c. Jay Cutler(11th overall, 2006, by Denver, acquired for multiple picks in 2009)
d. Matt Forte(2nd round, 2008)
e. Lance Briggs(3rd round, 2003)

3. Philadelphia Eagles

a. DeSean Jackson(2nd round, 2008)
b. Michael Vick(1st overall, 2001, signed as free agent in 2009)
c. Trent Cole(5th round, 2005)
d. Asante Samuel(4th round, 2003 by NE, signed as a free agent in 2008)
e. Jeremy Maclin(19th overall, 2009)

4. Seattle Seahawks

a. Matt Hasselbeck(6th round, 1998, by GB, acquired for a swap of first round picks in 2001)
b. Lofa Tatupu(2nd round, 2005)
c. Earl Thomas(14th overall, 2010)
d. Mike Williams(10th overall, 2005 by Detroit, signed by Seattle in 2010)
e. Marshawn Lynch(12th overall, 2007, by Buffalo, acquired for 4th round pick)

5. New Orleans Saints

a. Drew Brees(2nd round pick, 2001, signed as free agent in 2006)
b. Marques Colston(7th round, 2006)
c. Jonathan Vilma(12th overall, 2004, by NYJ, acquired for a conditional draft pick)
d. Darren Sharper(2nd round pick, 1997, by GB, signed as free agent in 2009)
e. Lance Moore(undrafted)

6. Green Bay Packers

a. Aaron Rodgers(24th overall, 2005)
b. Clay Matthews(26th overall, 2009)
c. Greg Jennings (2nd round pick, 2006)
d. Charles Woodson(4th overall pick, by Oakland, in 1998, signed as free agent in 2006)
e. Tramon Williams(undrafted)

12 teams. 60 players. 10 of them picked in the Top 10. Four of the 10 became bigger stars on a team that didn't draft them(though I wouldn't classify Mike Williams as a "star", per se.). What gives? Obviously, luck is a factor in all of these picks. Some guys just need the right system and the right coaching to succeed. Clay Matthews didn't play a snap in high school, hardly saw action in college and dropped in the draft amidst steroid allegations. He lands with Green Bay, hooks up with Kevin Greene and Dom Capers and is now, to me, the best pass rusher in the sport. Still, this list should serve as a cautionary tale to the teams picking in the Top 10 come April. Yes, a Matt Ryan or a Sam Bradford can turn around your franchise, but the chances of that happening seem to be bleaker and bleaker as years pass. This year, there's no guy you would classify as a can't-miss, making the odds that more than 20% of the teams picking 1-10 making the playoffs next season all the more difficult. Can a Nick Fairley rejuvenate the Panthers? Could Patrick Patterson get Denver over the hump? Is Cam Newton the missing piece in Washington? Only time will tell. However, if this year's playoffs are any indication, GMs sitting at the top of the Draft may want to work those phones early in hopes of waiting a little longer for their rookie cornerstone.

Guess Who's Back!!

It's been a long time Boom Roasted Fans, too long in fact. I've had a transition in the way I make my legal money, and I've just now hit my groove and can get back to some of the things I love.

So, about this game today. This Super Bowl is going to be fantastic, if you're a fan of the game. If you understand the chess match that occurs on the field, you'll be in heaven. If you understand why Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers are two of the best quaterbacks in the league, even though they have wildly different styles, you'll love this game. I predict the final score will be something like 20-17.

This game will not be for the casual fan. It won't be for the guy who watches three games a year and only understands offense and scoring. It is a Chateauneuf-du-Pape being given to a Yellow Tail crowd. The genius of this game will be in the subtlety.

It is going to be like the last two episodes of The Sopranos. People who had watched the show sporadically throughout the show's run checked in to those episodes to see how it would end, but were disappointed because they truly didn't know what was going on. Where's Johnny Aprile? Why is Johnny Sack in jail? Where's Ralphie? Real fans though, loved the end of that series.

So what do I think will happen? -

Green Bay's defense is built from the secondary forward. They will be able to take the Steelers' passing game away. But if you've been paying attention to the playoffs, the Steelers are fine with that. Big Ben has not put up good numbers so far, but they have still been winning.

Pittsburgh's defense is built from the linebackers forward. They will stonewall the Packers' (all of a sudden we have a) running game. But if you've paid attention to the season, the Packers are fine with that. Their offensive strength is Aaron Rodgers. He is the key. He needs to play well for the Packers to win. The Steelers can win if Big Ben has a bad game. They have enough other weapons to carry the team. If Rodgers has a bad game, the Packers are sunk.

My predition.....the Steelers do just enough and win 24-17.

And if I hear Journey and the screen fades to black at the end of the game, I might put a brick through my TV.

Here's A Story...

Much like myself, the Super Bowl is a blessed event that needs no introduction or an overwhelming amount of hype. It's the most watched sporting event in this country's history and is the epitome of "appointment television". Still, this year's Super Bowl offers up quite a bit of intrigue, and not just because it's my Packers first Super Bowl appearance in 12 years.

Here's a look at a few matchups and storylines you should be interested in while you are counting your squares, pounding your beers and looking for things to do during the Black Eyed Peas' halftime show tomorrow.

1. Aaron Rodgers vs. Brett Favre: You would like to think that, by making a Super Bowl appearance just three years into being named the full-time starter, that Aaron Rodgers would have done enough to build a name for himself and we can finally enjoy a Packers season without Brett Favre looming over the media coverage. You would be wrong. The football media have been unwilling to let go of their boner for Favre and the last two weeks have been non-stop questions about the last guy to take the Packers to the Super Bowl. It goes without saying that this is a big game for Rodgers. A win here not only legitimizes him among the ranks of today's great QBs but it finally takes him out of Favre's shadow much like Steve Young's Super Bowl win in 1995 took a monkey named Joe Montana off of his back. The constant talk of Favre is unfair to Rodgers, who is coming back from two concussions this season to lead a team with 15 guys on the injured reserve to the Super Bowl after backing into the playoffs as the 6th seed. If Rodgers puts up numbers similar to Drew Brees' night last year(32-39, 288 yards, 2 TD), then we can put all the Favre talk to bed. However, if you are looking for a fun drinking game to play tomorrow, take a shot for every time Brett Favre's name comes up during the Super Bowl....something tells me Aaron Rodgers will be doing the same if the Packers aren't victorious over Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

2. Ben Roethlisberger vs. The World: All of the storybook turnaround hype has seemed to, albeit justified, go to Michael Vick, who went from dog-killing prison inmate to Pro Bowl starting QB. Lost in the all the puppy love surrounding Vick, however, is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger will be competing for his third Super Bowl ring in 8 years following an offseason that saw Big Ben get put through the PR ringer after not one but two sexual assault charges. As bad a beating Vick took from PETA and various media outlets, Roethlisberger was right there with him as an NFL pariah. That point became all the more blatant this week when ESPN, and several other media outlets, made a huge deal out of Roethlisberger and a few of his teammates being seen at a piano bar until nearly two in the morning. This wasn't a strip club or a college dorm party. It was a piano bar. Now, I know a setting where both alcohol, Ben Roethlisberger and women are all present makes you uneasy if you are a Steelers fan or coach or, most importantly, a woman anywhere near a bathroom stall, but let's not get too carried away here. For all the mistakes this man has made over the last few years, I'd like to think a recently-engaged Big Ben would be smart enough to not to do anything extremely stupid the week before the biggest game of the season in a year where his every move is being watched like a hawk. Roethlisberger is as entitled to a good time as Vick is to owning a beagle or Donte Stallworth is to driving a car(if not, more so, since he wasn't convicted of anything). Roethlisberger may be a bonehead, but he's not the Son of Sam.

That being said, there will be no bigger "Fuck You" from Ben to the rest of the world than if he manages to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for a third time. As Ray Lewis and Kobe Bryant can attest, nothing vindicates you from a season of bad press more than winning a championship. Whether the "rapist" stigma ever fully leaves Roethlisberger won't be known until years down the road, but don't think the thought of shoving it in people's faces(much like he did in that bathroom stall....sorry, couldn't resist) isn't on the mind of Number Seven come Sunday night.

3. Clay Matthews vs. Troy Polamalu: It was the closest vote for a Defensive Player of the Year award we've seen in years and, in my bias opinion, the wrong guy won. Troy Polamalu edged out Clay Matthews by two votes to win defensive MVP. We can spend all day dissecting who was better this season, but the biggest test over who is more valuable will come Sunday. Make no mistake about it, Clay Matthews IS the Packers' pass rush. Cullen Jenkins is a decent rusher. B.J. Raji continues to emerge, as has Erik Walden, but for the Packers to win tomorrow, they need "The Ultimate Warrior" to rattle Big Ben's brain a few times. The same goes for Polamalu. As Joe Flacco knows, Troy needs to be accounted for at all times, and Polamalu's ability as someone who is both excellent in coverage and as a blitzer means Aaron Rodgers has to keep a watchful eye on 42. While the Defensive Player of the Year award is a meaningless regular season trophy, the true title of "best defensive player" should go to the guy who makes the biggest splash on the biggest stage tomorrow evening. Polamalu has been invisible so far this postseason, with just seven tackles in two games, but that becomes a moot point if he continues to wreak havoc like he has done all season. The same goes for Matthews, who has 3.5 sacks in 3 games. He has to be everywhere to keep Roethlisberger from having the game he had against Green Bay in last year's epic clash.

Polamalu. Matthews. It's the battle of the hair. Winner takes all.

4. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman vs. Your Mute Button: The Super Bowl is such a big entity in and of itself that it shouldn't be bogged down by which network wins the rights to televise and have it commentated by their respective announce team. When it came down to it, there was no winners no matter how you looked at it. For CBS, you had the lullaby-inducing drone of Phil Simms and Greg Gumbel. NBC has the nasally annoyance of Cris Collinsworth. ESPN, the masters of overhype, would have trotted out "Captain Obvious" Jon Gruden. So, instead, we got stuck with atrocious bromance that is Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Now, both men's inadequacies in the booth have been well-documented so they don't need repeating in this space, but the question is: When will be your breaking point? First quarter? Halftime? 6 minutes to go in the 3rd? Inevitably, you will get sick of Buck overstating every deep pass or Aikman's good 'ol boy drawl muttering non-sensical jargon. If the NFL is going to waste big bucks on elaborate halftime shows, hours upon hours of pregame coverage and various other over-the-top methods to put a bow on its flagship event, it should be able to bring in its own dream announce team. 10 years ago, I would have said Pat Summerall and John Madden would be the way to go, but Madden has become the professor of the "Overstating The Obvious" course Gruden now masters and Summerall has been put out to pasture. The football world really doesn't have anyone out there anymore that fans would pine to listen to(except maybe Gus Johnson). In a humorous sense, I would love to see Brett Favre call this game just to force him into either gushing over Aaron Rodgers or being publicly unable to hold back his anger toward his former team and his heir apparent. What about Vin Scully? Certianly, the master of baseball announcing could handle one football game. Sure, Scully will be out of place talking about zone coverages and blocking schemes after decades of balls and strikes, but could he be worse than Buck and Aikman? What about Brent Musberger, the king of college football? He has football experience and he's far more of a joy to listen to than any of these other football cronies we have now. Even better, why not let the fans call the game? The Super Bowl will be heavily censored anyway, wouldn't it be entertaining to take two drunk wahoos out of the stands and let them break down what we're seeing. Chances are, you'll be doing that at home anyway. The NFL can put out an aptitude quiz and see who knows the most about football, get two lucky winners liquored and let them have at it. It can't be anymore of an abomination than what we'll be listening to tomorrow night anyway, right?

5. Fergie's Boobs in HD vs. Your Wife/Girlfriend/Baby Mama: The halftime show hasn't had anything close to an "urban" musical act since Janet Jackson whipped out her titty a few years ago. Sadly, the closest hip-hop fans will get to a Super Bowl halftime show will be the Black Eyed Peas tomorrow night. As any male who has ever watched anything BEP-related over the years can attest, there's only one reason to watch the Black Eyed Peas: Fergie. Chances are, you'll be watching BEP's set for two reasons: 1. You like terrible music. 2. To stare at Fergie in the glory of high-def for a half hour. Assuming you're not a lughead who wants to fist pump to "Let's Get Retarded" during halftime, you'll probably be opting for Door #2. If that's the case, be prepared for snarky remarks from your female significant other about Fergie "not being all that hot" or getting chastised for drooling over "The Dutchess" while everything around you is a blur(or, if you're like me, you'll get to listen to your buddy make jokes about how Fergie once pissed herself on stage as my friend Jakson points out every time her name is brought up). Look, the Peas aren't edgy enough to try anything close to what Janet and Justin Timberlake did in 2004, but after suffering through old-fogey acts like The Who and Bruce Springsteen over the years, this is the closest males of our demographic are going to get to seeing a hot chick for an extended period of time during a football game. Will Fergie whip 'em out on stage? Of course not. Will there be sexually-tinged innuendos like Prince did in 2006? Probably not. All you will get is the only watchable member of a extremely-intolerable pseudo-rap group grinding around in scantily-clad outfits while your woman gives you dirty looks. So, fellas, enjoy....and bob and weave.