The World Series. It is a dream for all young baseball players, a dream that goes unrealized for almost everyone of them. The Rays did something that nobody thought was possible, and I include the Rays players and management too, they made it to the series. In only their tenth year of existence, and what makes it even more remarkable, is the fact that they finished dead last every other year. Until this year, 2008, the magic year when everything finally came together. Think about this- the Cubs have not gone to a series in 50 years or so and have not won a championship in over a hundred years. This will be the third time in 11 years that an expansion team from Florida plays for the title. Just something to think about. Also another thing that makes this series compelling is the match-up. Not just the players on the field, but the cities they represent. Once again Tampa has to go through a Philly team to win the championship. In 2003 the Bucs had to beat the eagles to go to the superbowl and the next year the Lightning had to beat the Flyers to go to the Stanley Cup finals. It almost seems like destiny that the rays will have to beat the Phillies for their championship. Which will happen.
I thought that it was all hype. There was no way that HDTV was as good as everybody was saying. That was my thinking last week. Before my new best friend, the cable guy, hooked up my new HD receiver. I didn’t think that it would make such a difference, but I really don’t think that I can ever go back to the way it was. Sorry regular t.v, no disrespect, but your time is over. The new king of watching sports is HD. I say new king, because I didn’t jump on the band wagon sooner. Oh, all the games I’ve missed being so naive. I could have watched the Gators trounce the Ohio Buckeyes in the championship two years ago. I could have watched the miracle Giants beat the Patriots last year in the Super Bowl. It is 100 percent better in HD. I can see the sweat and dirt and grime and feel like I’m on the field. Even NASCAR looks exciting. It would have even made the Olympics bearable. It would have been glorious. It should have been glorious, but I was stubborn. After all, why should I get a new fancy television when the one I bought ten years ago was still working? It didn’t make any sense. I was wrong. Big time. I know that now and I take full responsibility for my actions. Now, that I’ve forgiven myself and moved on; let the MLB playoffs start, let the NFL continue and hockey season can’t get here soon enough. All hail HDTV!
For my money, I think that college football is better than the NFL. First of all, it’s way more exciting. From the tailgating to the painted up fans, it blows the NFL out of the water. You can’t have the excitement and rivalry that you have in the college game in the pros. There just isn’t enough history and enthusiasm. Even new rivalries like The University of South Florida playing cross state rivals The University of Central Florida is hyped up so much, you might as well be watching the Super Bowl. And these two teams have only played three or four times in the last eight years. It can’t be matched. These kids playing and watching in the stands live and die by their respective schools. It is more than a game to them and you can feel it in the stands. Sure, as a Buccaneers fan, I can’t stand certain teams, like the Panthers and the Giants and pretty much the entire NFC North division, but it’s not even close to how much a West Virginia fan hates Pitt. Not even close. I mean, thiose fans in Morgontown light couches on fire for pete’s sake. COUCHES! that’s not normal or sane. It’s fandom.
Football season is finally here. It starts this Thursday. It seems like an eternity between the time the Superbowl ends and the regular season starts. The pro-bowl and the pre-season don’t count, either. This is the time when all the work spent during the off-season is either going to pay off, or another huge disappointments will befall the city of your choice. Will there be another unlikely giant killer (pun intended) like the Giants of New York from last season? Could it possibly happen again? And is there a team that is as daunting as the Patriots were last year? I don’t think that they could be as good as they were last season, in fact I don’t see any team going undefeated this year. I would almost say that it was impossible, although I didn’t think that the Pat’s could do what they did last season. Oh, to be so close and not be able to finish. I still smile at the thought of the hail-mary like pass being snagged from mid air in front of the Pat’s cornerback, the gasps of millions of New England fans echoing across the country. It was great. Every time I see the re-play on ESPN, it brings joy to my heart. Lets just hope that it does happen to be another one of those great NFL seasons that will have at least one moment that will be talked about for years to come.
Since the New York Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl, a record $2.6 million was lost by the Nevada sports books. Several smaller sized bets were placed on the Giants to win, making the total wagered to the Giants around 60 percent. This in fact caused the Patriots to only be favored by 12 points instead of the original 14 points.
Most of the people who bet chose Giants to win outright on the money line, which in turned cause the payouts to be up to $475 for every $100 wagered.
The overall total amount that was wagered at Nevada’s 174 sports books was $92.1 million, the third highest amount ever wagered. The last time the casinos had lost money on the Super Bowl was in 1995, when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26. In that Super Bowl, only $400,000 was lost.
Who would have thought that the New York Giants would upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Perfection was in the face of the Patriots but shattered before they knew it. They could no longer become the first NFL team to go 19-0 in a season.
If this was a David vs. Goliath matchup, David wore No. 10 for the Giants. Eli Manning secured that status when he lofted a 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left, giving the Giants a 17-14 victory over New England at University of Phoenix Stadium.
