Things Learned This Weekend

The Pro Bowl is the most boring of the "All-Star" games. On Sunday more people were talking about an NHL game than an NFL game, that means something is very wrong.

Djokovic is no Djoke. He looked really good winning the Australian Open while the usual top guys looked old and tired.

Sean White is the king of 80's hair rock, I mean snowboarding/skateboarding. He did his crazy, super human halfpipe tricks to win Superpipe gold for the 4th time at this years Winter X Games all while wearing a tight leather outfit.

Tweet of the Week

This week's TOTW is actually a series of tweets that all started with Antonio Cromartie saying that both the NFL and the NFLPA are acting like @$$%@%!# .

@Hasselbeck Matt Hasselbeck tweeted this before quickly deleting it -

"Somebody ask Cromartie if he knows what CBA stands for"

Then there was this -

A_Cromartie31 Antonio Cromartie

@Hasselbeck hey Matt if u have something to then say it be a man about it. Don't erase it. I will smash ur face in.

27 Jan Favorite Retweet Reply

And finally there was this -

Hasselbeck Matthew Hasselbeck

@A_Cromartie31 Sorry for the joke man. No hard feelings. DB's & QB's have a hard time getting along I guess sometimes. lol

27 Jan Favorite Retweet Reply

Classic Clips

Once in a while the stars align and a Heisman Trophy winner becomes the Super Bowl MVP. This happened on January 22, 1984 at Tampa Stadium in Super Bowl XVIII. Marcus Allen ran for a wild 74 yard Touchdown that helped cement The Raiders win.

Lock It Up

My lock of the week is Roger Federer over whoever he plays in the Australian Open Final on Saturday night. We know it will not be Rafael Nadal, as he got beat beat by fellow Spaniard Ferrer last night in straight sets. Also, Juan Martin Del Potro is out of the tournament, so Federer will not have to worry about that giant who was the last player to beat him in an Open Final.

Stay away from the Pro Bowl. No one plays hard and it's gonna be a shoot out. If there's one thing you can guarantee, it's that there will be no fines for devastating hits. There was something kind of cool about the Pro Bowl when it took place the week after the Super Bowl, kind of like a cold soda the day after a late night of partying, but hey, Roger Goodell is a genius who's changing everything about the greatest game of all time, who am I to question?

Lock It Up 2011 Standings
Lee Feinstein :2-1
Quaz Flawless :2-2
Bill Beck :1-0
Dan :1-0
Matt Summa :0-1
Pat :0-1
Ian :0-2

Get in on the action and comment or tweet your Lock of the Week. Add #smackjabber #lockitup in your tweet with your pick/s @quazflawless.

Flawless Thoughts

Regarding the QB controversy in the Bears/Packers game, first the talking heads were saying that Jay Cutler should have kept playing through the pain, but quickly it turned into other talking heads calling those criticisms inappropriate. From what I saw, at the very least there should have been a bag of ice on his knee. The scene was a little strange when he was walking around or on the exercise bike on the sidelines, but who's thinking of impressions when your Super Bowl dreams are getting crushed in front of you and there's nothing you can do to stop it(not to mention that he wasn't spectacular when he was in the game). You don't usually see that kind of uproar when a star player comes out of the game, but when it happens in the playoffs it's bound to be criticized. It was not long ago that Ladanian Tomlinson's toughness and heart were called into question by media and former players when he stayed on the sidelines with an injury toward the end of a Chargers playoff game. I'm more concerned with how Brian Urlacher got tackled when he was running back that interception, that was weak!

The Jets this the Jets that, and now... no more Jets. It seems like most non-Jets fans are calling everything the Jets did into question as if the things they did this season where mistakes. I feel like the Jets have done a good job becoming relevant, and not only relevant but dominant. You don't see Jack Del Rio, or Marv Lewis going to the Conference Championship games every year, they don't even make the playoffs! I'd be pretty excited about the future if I were a Jets fan.

Super Bowl XLV should be an exciting game between teams that both have great offense and defense. It seems like it would be a high scoring game with the way Aaron Rodgers can spread the ball out, and the way the Steelers offense can always find a way to score. Older folks always say, "I remember when this or that was 5 cents" but the ultimate example of this has to be a ticket to the Super Bowl. Most reports have tickets to the first Super Bowl at around $10 and now the average price on StubHub.com for 2011's Super Bowl is around $3000 !!!

Marky Mark

Did you ever pick your nose to spite your face?

Do You Come From The Land Down Under?

Just add this to the list of strange things that happen in Australia

Tweet of the Week

I've heard people say a lot of things about Scarlett Johansson but this is just crazy...

KDthunderup Kevin Durant

Scarlett johanneson I will drink ur bath water...#random

16 Jan

Classic Clips

There are events that stick out from a sport's past that may have taken place years before you were born, but it can feel like you were there just from the ripples it created throughout that sport's universe. In 1972 "The Immaculate Reception" was one of these events. Talk about winning a game as time runs out, this is one of the most exciting and controversial finishes in NFL history, and it was a playoff game! Bring this up to old time Steelers/Raiders fans and you'll still get a debate about whether this play was legal as back then an NFL rule existed that read : once an offensive player touches a pass, he is the only offensive player eligible to catch the pass. However, if a defensive player touches the pass "first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only one [offensive] player, then all [offensive] players become and remain eligible" to catch the pass.

Lock It Up

My lock of the week is Packers over Bears. I'm staying away from the Jets, and moving to the NFC where the Packers look like they're destined for a Super Bowl appearance. The Bears haven't played a winning team in a long time, let alone beat one, and here come the hot as fire Packers with Rodgers looking great and some kid named Starks running the ball well for them.

Stay away from Jets vs Steelers. The Jets beat the Steelers in the regular season, but the Steelers have grown into a better team than they were then. You could argue that the Jets have too. Should be the best game of the weekend.

Lock It Up 2011 Standings
Lee Feinstein : 1-1
Quaz Flawless : 1-2
Matt Summa : 0-1
Ian : 0-2

Get in on the action and comment or tweet your Lock of the Week. Add #smackjabber #lockitup in your tweet with your pick/s @quazflawless.

Flawless Thoughts

I've heard a lot of "the Jets get no respect" since their huge win over division rival New England on Sunday. It's true they do get no respect when going up against a team that destroyed them in the regular season. It will be interesting to see whether they get their "respect" this week when they play a team that they dismantled in the regular season.

During the most exciting time in football it's unfortunate that a lockout is in the headlines. The owners say that the CBA needs to be renegotiated, citing reasons including the cost of new stadiums. Now I haven't been to New Meadowlands, but I've seen footage, and heard plenty of reports basically stating that it is "a lesson on how to waste a billion dollars". Giants Stadium was fine, and according to reports could have been used for "30 more years". Seems strange that everyone else has to pay for the stadiums(fans, citizens, players association) especially when they look like an air conditioner. The thing that is mind boggling to me is how a lot of fans seem to think that the players "make too much money". Since when do we decide the salaries of jobs that aren't government positions? And why then are we restricting our judgement to pro athletes? Why not the salaries at other huge corporations, like google, facebook, The UPS store, Sony, and why not the salaries of the people in NFL management positions? Also, I've NEVER heard a fan complain about a head coach's salary, what's up with that? They make more than most players do.

Yesterday ESPN reported that Bret Favre had filed his retirement papers. Yes that's what I said yesterday ESPN reported that Bret Favre had filed his retirement papers. Can at least some of the annoying Bret Favre retirement saga be blamed on the media? Try most of it. What would really be annoying about it if it wasn't being reported on EVERY DAY! Why isn't ESPN held accountable? Only Favre and his "ego" get the blame.

Ron Artest Ejected For.......Being Ron Artest

There's no crying in baseball, and ever since Ron Artest went berserk on a fan, no fighting in basketball, even if by fighting you mean pushing, and by pushing you mean jersey grabbing. Also I'm pretty sure Blake Griffin gets ejected for walking away from "the fight".

Primetime Gets Giddy Off of Theisman Slip

Rubber Meets Road Today in Pro Playoff Poker

Wild Card weekend is but a memory and the stage is now set for four playoff games which will go a long way to determining SmackJabber's inaugural Pro Playoff Poker Champion. Today at 4:30, the AFC Divisional Round gets under way as the Steelers host the Ravens, who are coming off of a 30-7 road demolishment of upstart Kansas City. And tonight at 8, Green Bay also looks for a 2nd straight road playoff win as the Packers travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. The conference title matchups will be finalized tomorrow when the Bears host the surprising Seahawks (1pm) and Super Bowl favorite New England welcomes the Jets (4:30pm).

The Jets and Seahawks dashed many a contestants' dreams last week, not the least of which were aarnn, dmurph and kenscrx, who sit with just 2 points overall and a dreaded Queen in danger of advancing from every divisional round game. On the opposite end of the spectrum, lifted99 and patdownes lead the pack with 14 points.

Looking forward, the only result this weekend that matters to lifted99 (whose maximum score stands at 32) is a New England win over the Jets. From there, he will continue to root for an AA Super Bowl, with Pats either facing the Falcons or getting a re-match of Super Bowl XXXI (when Brett Favre grabbed his only championship ring at the expense of the Parcells-led Pats). Chicagoland native patdownes has a heck of a lot riding on the Bears game tomorrow. A Seahawks win would leave him with a maximum of only 28 points, likely dooming his championship aspirations - the best patdownes can do now is a couple AK conference championship showdowns, netting 4 additional points this weekend leaving open the possibility of 15 more if Chicago reaches the Super Bowl and faces one of Pittsburgh or Baltimore (this would net him his current max of 33).

Sitting in third and fourth place currently are dwfiresound (12 points) and Bowl Game Blackjack champion popchaunce (11). Each assigned Queens to both Chicago and the upstart Seahawks, guaranteeing them a Queen in their NFC title matchup and leaving them with a narrow path to the PPP money. For dwfiresound, it's simple - he will post his max score of 33 if Green Bay reaches the Super Bowl and the Jets lose to the Patriots tomorrow. Even the best case scenario for popchaunce is not so rosy. He cannot score more than 28 points under any scenario.

Here are the outlooks for the six teams currently sitting just outside the money with 10 points:

LuckyPierre (31 max) guaranteed himself pocket rockets in the AFC title game, correctly predicting the Jets (Ace) defeat of the Colts and the Ravens (Ace) over the Chiefs. He needs all chalk on the NFC side though, and will therefore be a big Falcons (King) and Bears (King) fan tonight and tomorrow, respectively. LP will then support the AFC (with the particular team he'll root on depending on which other contestants remain in contention).

Matt (31 max) need not concern himself with today's games; he need only root against the Jets (Queen) and Seahawks (Queen). Assuming those underdogs' hopes are extinguished tomorrow, Matt becomes an NFC fan the rest of the way, as any such Super Bowl champ would earn him his potential (but which NFC team represents the conference in the Super Bowl should matter greatly to him; e.g., he may need to root against the Bears in order to outshine patdownes).

Yours truly (thalernd, 31 max) put too much faith in Peyton Manning last week, and will therefore be among the many PPP Patriots (Ace) fans, tomorrow afternoon (as well those who will root thusly with a finger down their throats). In fact, I will have the same rooting interests as Matt this weekend, with the possible addition of a Packers win over Atlanta, which would bring a welcome detriment to opponents, such as LuckyPierre, who failed to see the potential of Aaron Rogers & company). From there, Matt and I will become natural enemies as I take up the AFC banner.

nschell (29 max), parhangelsky's (28 max), bob (28 max) appear to be long shots at the moment.

Other contestants with a chance to notch 30+ points:

32 Max:
SmackJabber PTB, quazflawless (32 max) would have some serious scratch on the line this weekend if he was not a site admin because he is one of only four remaining contestants with a chance to line up nothing but bullets (AA) the rest of the way. If chalk prevails in the AFC (NE and PIT) this weekend and the Packers and Bears play for the NFC's crown, quaz will be assured of 32 points, and at least a top 3 finish - it appears that an AFC Super Bowl win and/or a Bears NFC title under these circumstances would give quaz the PPP championship.

31 Max:
-SaraReinthaler (31 max) will root for Chicago and Baltimore generally, and needs the Packers to lose tonight.
-nnaislteys (31 max) needs AFC chalk this weekend, followed by a Green Bay run to the Super Bowl to cash.
-thepudge (31 max), another team who can matchup up all four Aces in the conference championships needs chalk in all four games this weekend (NE, PIT, ATL, CHI) to make it happen. His guaranteed 31 points will be most effective if the Steelers (A spades) or Falcons (A hearts) win the Lombardi Trophy.
-custybri (31 max) also has a shot at the 4-Ace Monte, but his magic numbers are riding on the Jets, Steelers, Packers and Bears.


30 Max:
-lbeck needs the Jets to lose tomorrow, Atlanta to win it all, and the Falcons to face Chicago in the NFC title game. And it probably wouldn't hurt her if the Ravens were the AFC Super Bowl rep.
-Becked is another Falcons/Bears fan and could tie lbeck with 30 if he achieves his optimal results (Becked's Ace of Diamonds on the Falcons would trump lbeck's Ace of Clubs on the Dirty Birds should that scenario play out).
-dnoyd07 needs AFC chalk this weekend, along with a Packers or Falcons title run to contend for a prize.
JohnAurora (30 max) prefers the Falcons version of the dnoyd07 scenario, above. Various other tiebreak implications exist.
-TigerLillyLisa (30 max) is likely in need of Ravens Super Bowl title, and would probably prefer Green Bay as their opponent.
-D0LeM1Te (30 max) is the final contestant eligible to Ace out the rest of the game and, like thepudge, looks for all of the favorites (NE, PIT, ATL and CHI) to win their games this weekend. A repeat of Super Bowl XX (Bears over Pats) is likely his best possible outcome.

Good luck to everyone! Enjoy the games!

Tweet of the Week

AroundTheHorn Tony Reali

RT @DaveLozo "This is for all the Tostitos" is the new "Taking my talents to South Beach."

Classic Clips

Besides the Giants beating the Bills, generally the Super Bowl was a blowout of a game when I was younger, even a blowout between the same two teams (Cowboys, Bills). In the past ten or eleven years though, Super Bowls have been the most exciting games in sports(except for one or two), and what made them exciting was on the field, not the hype surrounding them. One of the first of these, Super Bowl XXXIV, was a wild game with an ending that was unforgettable!

Lock It Up

My lock of the week is Patriots over Jets. I like them more than I like the Bears over the Seahawks. The trash talk by Rex and now Cromartie can and will only make the Pats play better. Not to mention that the Jets BARELY beat the Colts who wouldn't hold a candle to New England.

Stay away from Falcons vs Packers. While it would seem like the Packers would be favored because of their momentum, the Falcons are the new Cheifs and never lose at home. This game could be an exception to that rule though. Then again Matt Ryan, Rowdy Roddy, and Burner Turner could send the Pack packing.

Lock It Up 2011 Standings
Quaz Flawless : 1-1
Matt Summa : 0-1
Lee Feinstein : 0-1
Ian : 0-2

Get in on the action and comment or tweet your Lock of the Week. Throw #smackjabber #lockitup in your tweet with your pick/s @quazflawless.

Flawless Thoughts

After the Packers win over the Eagles, members of the media were seen taking the monkey off of Rodgers' back. If there was a monkey it was on Reid's back and maybe it still is. He traded away his Hall of Fame quarterback in division for Kevin Kolb with his $13 mil contract, then benched Kolb for UberVick. It all seemed so genius until Sunday.

Rex Ryan's trash talking is entertaining for sure, and it might even be effective most of the time. This time though, it seems like a huge mistake. It looks like his last resort to get his players to forget about that last game against the Pats which has to be on their minds. Hopefully, for the Jets that's not a sign of weakness.

It was reported today that the Nuggets organization was so upset with the Nets organization for being public about the possible Carmelo trade that they would instead trade him to the Knicks. Then later the Knicks part was said to be untrue. First of all why are the Nets doing anything to jeopardize a Carmelo trade, and second of all why weren't the Nugs in talk with the Knicks to begin with? Could you imagine Amare and Melo? If that did happen, would Net fans get to be bitter about where he took his talents?

It's finally over! Bret Favre is finished! No more Rachel Nichols setting up a tent on his front lawn. No more keys to the city. No more sexts. No more clothing containing a #4 patch unaffiliated with any team during press conferences. Reporting kind of killed Favre's legacy if anything though. It's not a good excuse and it gets thrown around a lot, but did we really need that much coverage of everything Favre? I remember the good old days when you just heard about Favre's interceptions and touchdowns, and hearing his name a hundred times from Madden and then eventually Frank Caliendo.

Tweet #smackjabber on twitter to get in on the smack talk in the standings pages of smackjabber.com games!

Natural Disaster?

Marshawn Lynch's run was classic on Saturday in the Seahawks win against the defending champion Saints that's for sure, but the aftershock might have been more than excited football fans! Check out this story from SB Nation Seattle -

http://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-seahawks/2011/1/9/1925874/marshawn-lynch-seahawks-nfl-playoffs-earthquake

Tweet of the Week

I guess if you're Deion Sanders you get to make Man Laws.

DeionSanders

Popping gum is a pet peeve of mine and if a man does it he's breaking a MAN LAW. A man popping gum like a chick makes me angry!

5 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Jedi Mind Trick!

You don't need to see it's identification, this is not the puck you're looking for, it can go about it's business, move along.

Classic Clips

As kids growing up in the eighties, there was certain common knowledge - Michael J Fox was a time-traveling werewolf, Mr. T pities fools, and Hulk Hogan's shirt wasn't safe. But there was one thing that was completely indisputable - BO KNEW !!!

Stoner Strategy

Remember that trick shot in knock hockey? The one where you bounce it off the side wall and it always goes in the net? So does Clayton Stoner.

"NBA Operating At A Loss" - David Stern

Stop giving out 20k at halftime all the time! It's really banks that hold these promotions, but it just seems funny with the labor dispute looming.

Lock It Up

My Lock of the Week is Jets over Colts. Foot fetishes, DWI's, scoldings by Tony Dungy, pictures of Bret Favre's junk, it's all in a year's work for the New York Jets and they seem to soak it all up, playing well most of the season and earning themselves a rematch in Indianapolis. I was at that game last year when the Jets were up at halftime and Peyton was like "I'll be back" and returned in the second half to go all "hasta la vista, baby" on NY's defense. But this year will be different in my opinion. The Colts defense is subject for debate each year, and this year it seems that you can run errands on them. Watch for LT to be resurgent in a wild game on Saturday.

Stay away from Auburn vs Oregon. Unstoppable superstars? Check. Controversy? Check. Both teams better than the Seattle Seahawks? Check. This week's Monday Night Football game just happens to be College Football's Super Bowl and I'm way more excited for this matchup than in the last few years!

I've started the year off 0-1, show that you're better by commenting your "Lock of the Week". I'll be gloating about winning and silent about losing on twitter.com (@quazflawless) so get involved in the smack talk by tweeting #smackjabber! Then it can be seen on the standings pages of smackjabber.com games as well as earn you smackjabber.com bonuses in the future! Don't forget to make your picks for Pro Playoff Poker !!!

Wow

I know they're good, but walking on water? C'mon.

Flawless Thoughts

It would be cool if the NFL had let the XFL's Super Bowl be a play-in game to the NFL playoffs, then it would have been a lot like last Sunday night when the Seahawks beat the Rams, thus earning a playoff spot with a 7-9 record. Now the Seahawks will be at home against the 5th seed Saints, and it seems a lock to pick the Saints. Is it possible though that "the 12th man" + Whitehurst's not horrible play could get the Hawks a win? Probably not.

Ovechkin tallied a win over Crosby in this years Winter Classic. It's always exciting as the outdoor aspect is reminiscent of hockey's roots. It would be way cooler if they did that once a week rather than once a year though.

The Bowl games have been very exciting, with the Tenessee vs North Carolina game sticking out for me. The too many men on the field during the spiking of the ball with one second left was crazy. You only get a 5-yard penalty and no clock run-off for that?

Has Favre's legacy been tarnished? This question has been all over the sports news world in the last few weeks. Well, if they mean his legacy of owning all those records and winning the Super Bowl, than no. But I guess his character does seem to have been distorted a little, I mean who does that?

Tweet #smackjabber on twitter to get in on the smack talk in the standings pages of smackjabber.com games !!!

The Knicks R Back?!?!

DJ Steve Porter thinks so!

Tweet of the Week

jemelehill Jemele Hill

For those that complain about D Wade-Bron-Bosh formation, you clearly haven't seen the Backstreet Boys-New Kids On The block collabo

2 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply