Chris Berman May Leave ESPN…but He’ll Never Escape YouTube

Reports starting popping up yesterday all over the Interwebs on various blog posting sites that ESPN legend Chris Berman might leave the network that he helped build into the “Worldwide Leader”.

Boomer is reportedly mulling over offers from the NFL Network and DirectTV right now (in between healthy bites of ham sandwiches smothered in pickle relish…but that’s merely speculation on my part.)

What would Berman’s departure mean for ESPN and the landscape of sports media? Who cares!? This is the perfect opportunity to show you leaked ESPN video of Berman being a complete jerk.

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Beating a Dead Horse: Colts Fans Are The Worst

Before the Super Bowl on Sunday, I became aware of the rumor that many a Colts fan were concerned about the upcoming snowstorm; and more specifically, whether or not it would affect their Super Bowl parade.

As it turns out, it will be twenty-eight degrees and snowy in Indianapolis today, with a zero percent chance of fandom. A parade, by definition, is unlikely.

After living in Indy from 2003 to 2009, I realized two things:

1) That John Cougar Mellencamp is not nearly as popular or talented as Hoosiers think; and

2) The Colts have the worst fans in football. Their display of “appreciation” yesterday further proved it.

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Heartbreak for Colts: The Good, Bad & Ugly

Another snowstorm is set to hit Indianapolis tomorrow, and city officials had been concerned it might affect the putative Super Bowl celebratory parade through downtown; this is no longer an issue.

The parade will instead be in New Orleans, even as their city had actually planned one win or lose.

Last night’s game in Miami Gardens was a grave disappointment for the Circle City, and a shocking end to a season that saw central Indiana’s team, a la New England in 2007, go undefeated (in games they actually tried to win), yet fail on the world’s biggest football stage.

There was the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.

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Sweet Breesus! What a Game, What a Picture, What a Story

I’m not even a Saints fan and I’m still beaming from last night’s game. I can’t even totally put my finger on why.

The team I picked in my family Super Bowl betting challenge lost, the team I picked publicly lost, and the team with the QB from Purdue won. Plus, the difference in the game was two touchdowns and it did not have the last second drama of last year’s Super Bowl.

But…something about seeing a good guy like Drew Brees win, seeing a star-crossed city like New Orleans get to enjoy a Super Bowl, seeing the Big Ten earn some respect on football’s biggest stage, and seeing “the football gods favor the bold” (as Robert Littal would say), made Super Bowl XLIV forever special.

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A Brief Review of the Possibly Overrated Dungy Coaching Tree

[Editor's Note: Throughout the day I participate in email conversations with friends about hot sports topics. One of my friends in particular is very active in these conversations. This is that friend.

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How many times have we talked about it? Winners love taking risks when prudent. The onside kick was brilliant.

It would be wrong to suggest Caldwell’s stoicism indicates a lacking of passion, but when will NFL teams stop recruiting coaches from the morgue?

In a separate debate, the Dungy coaching tree has to be the most overrated, emotionally repressed coaching tree in the NFL. Let’s review what the Dungy group is known for:

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Drew Brees, Tracy Porter Lead Saints to ‘Old Oaken Upset’

No rivalry has defined my life more than Indiana vs Purdue.

I am a child of Bloomington with a deep-seeded hatred for all things gold and black who ultimately, as the ironic twists of fate would have it, ended up moving to West Lafayette for 8th grade and high school. Because of this, I have lived and breathed Indiana and Purdue sports – the Old Oaken Bucket game, the Knight-Keady rivalry, etc. – for as long as I can remember.

So despite my lack of a specific rooting interest in last night’s Super Bowl, the way it turned out made it a memorable one to me as supporter, in general, of all things Big Ten.

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Heartbreak for Colts & Fans

Outcoached, outplayed.

They got what they deserved.

Wayne had an awful game, and Peyton made one bad throw.

In the end, the Colts were done in by all the problems they’ve had all year:

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Video: IU Grad Tracy Porter Returns Interception of Peyton Manning for TD

The Super Bowl still has 2:00 to go, but barring something unforeseen, the play of the game and season has already occurred.

Update: Game over. Saints win 34-17.

With the Saints leading 24-17 and the Colts driving to tie the game, Indiana grad Tracy Porter stepped in front of a Peyton Manning pass that was intended for Reggie Wayne and proceeded to return the interception all the way to the end zone for a pick 6.

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Dwight Freeney Injury Update, Super Bowl Status, and Impact (Updated)

Update 2/7/10: According to multiple reports, Dwight Freeney will start in the Super Bowl. He is apparently out on the field warming up, but expectedly favoring his injuring ankle. As Gregg Doyel of CBS points on his Twitter feed, “Freeney is active for XLIV, and warming up now. He’s got some serious (legal) drugs in him.”

Update 2/7/10: The latest injury update on Dwight Freeney, per Suzy Kolber on ESPN this morning, is that Freeney will warm up and test the ankle when he gets to the stadium and hopes to be able to get on the field for obvious passing downs. No one is really sure, however, how well the ankle will respond in pregame.

We know that if Freeney does play, the Saints will go after his ankle and try to get him out for good. This will be the most talk about subplot of the Super Bowl pregame shows.

Update 2/6/09: This is obviously one of the biggest stories of the week – if not the biggest – so I figured this post deserved an update and to be recycled back to the front page.

The latest on Dwight Freeney’s ankle injury is that while he did not practice on Friday, the Colts (at least publicly) appear to be optimistic about his availability for Sunday. He won’t play his normal set of downs, but the Colts are hoping that he can at least give them something on obvious passing downs. I’ll update this post again tomorrow with the latest.

Dwight Freeney is one of the most underrated players in the NFL over the past decade, and I say that even though the Colts’ DE was recently named to the NFL’s All Decade team.

Unfortunately for Indianapolis, Freeney is also the biggest injury story of Super Bowl week, with a torn ligament in his right ankle leaving Freeney questionable for Sunday’s game.

All of the talking heads that I have heard opine about Freeney suggest that the most likely scenario is for him to play but be limited, with his #1 asset – speed off the edge – hindered by some degree.

And while I don’t think that Drew Brees is the kind of guy who would ever wish harm on an opponent, I’m sure that he wouldn’t be too broken up about it if Freeney was too hobbled to get to him on Sunday night.

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WWSC: Why I Hate the F–king Colts

[Editor's Note: Throughout the day I participate in email conversations with friends about hot sports topics. One of my friends in particular is very active in these conversations. This is that friend.

For the record, he is an Indiana native who grew up in the Northwest part of the state and roots for the Bears. This post will shed some insight into why he did not choose the Colts.]

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I hate the f–king colts.

I hate them because they’re good.

I hate them because they play in a dome yet reside in the MIDWEST, defying how football was intended to be played!!!

I hate them because they’re the Indianapolis colts and not the Indiana colts.

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Super Bowl Free Spread Pick and Over-Under Odds Analysis

It has been a fantastic year predicting games. Picking against the spread my record on the year is 36-21, meaning 63% of the time I win picking against the spread.

I do believe that is what they call “straight cash homie”.

I know lots of people throw out numbers like that, however every prediction I have given you is posted on the site, and more importantly for you…it’s free. I know places that pray they win 63%, because they charge a nice fee,; we give these picks to you for free so I hope you all have enjoyed this year.

Yesterday, I analyzed the QBs in today’s game. Today, I am giving you a free spread pick for Super Bowl 44 and analyzing the over-under odds.

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7 Bold Predictions for Super Bowl XLIV

From the offseason to training camp to preseason games to the regular season to the playoffs, this has been a typically exciting NFL season. Tonight, another season comes to a close with the Greatest Spectacle in Sports (and Television), the Super Bowl.

The best team from start to finish in the AFC, the Colts, will face the best team from start to finish in the NFC, the Saints. With both teams staying relatively quiet this week – the only real bulletin board material has come from the Colts’ former coach – there is only thing left to do on Super Bowl morning: take a stab at predicting what will happen.

Here are seven predictions for what we will see tonight in Super Bowl XLIV.

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Blackhawks Fans Make St. Louis Seem Like Home

It’s Saturday night and I find myself in St. Louis about to watch the Chicago Blackhawks take on the St. Louis Blues. As with any fan that goes to an away game, I expected to be the minority.

I was wrong. While the Blues fans did have the majority it wasn’t by a lot. There was still plenty of red and white Hawk jerseys all over the arena. When I say plenty I mean at least 40%. It was a great showing, proving how much love and hope the Hawk fans have in their team this year.

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LeBron Scores 47 Points, Cavs Win 11th Straight

RESPECT.

That was the theme of last night’s match-up between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena.

Wearing a purple “Respect” T-Shirt — the official color of the campaign dedicated to bringing awareness to domestic violence, Project Love, and teen dating violence — Pinque (Cavs “Scream Team” Dance Member) sang the National Anthem.

Additionally, before the game, Cavs Mascot Moondog was honored with a “birthday cake,” for appearing in his 300^th game. And fans were given “Please Don’t Leave 23” masks (courtesy of pleasedontleave.com), to hold up at the start of each quarter to show their love and support for the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, reigning league MVP, and The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Pro Athlete Of The Year: LeBron James.

However, when the Cavaliers took to the court, they showed little respect for the Knicks.

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Battle of the Best QB’s as Manning, Brees Square off in the Super Bowl

Brees vs Manning.

Among the stats that you will want to know for your Super Bowl Party is one very underrated stat for quarterbacks, which is their completion percentage.

No surprise here that both Brees and Manning rank one and two in the league. Brees at 70.6 and Manning at 68.8, both mind blowing numbers.

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