Friday, February 3, 2012

Bobcats and Super Bowl XLVI

For all those folks clamoring for a coaching change for the Charlotte Bobcats, please stop. The number is small, but the fear I have is that their dull noise will grow into a roar.

Paul Silas wasn't given a championship contender to work with. He was given a team, that if they were healthy, could be competitive. Truth is, a couple games over .500 would have been remarkable. Instead, Silas has had to work with a young group, that has been battered by injuries, and very few practices with which to work due to the compressed schedule.

The injuries might be the byproduct of the lockout that cost teams a normal training camp, but the facts are this: this team was short on a full bench worth of talent at the start, injuries to top players have killed them, and ultimately, Silas is not to blame. This record with a healthy roster? The song changes.

Super Bowl XLVI (46 for the Roman numerically challenged), should, and I stress SHOULD, be a fantastic game. The Patriots and Giants have proven themselves to be the best teams in their respective conferences. Yes, both had to dodge some playoff bullets to get here, but give them the proper credit. I picked against the Giants in their playoff opener with Atlanta, but haven't since.

New England has returned to its usual self. You know, the team that angers America because they play so well, with their hoodied Head Coach Bill Belichick, and their GQ cover boy Tom Brady. Yep, those Patriots. Yes, they had to dodge the endzone drop against Baltimore to make it to Indianapolis, but they are worthy AFC champions.

Who am I taking? The football pick is New York. The sentimental pick, however, is New England.

Yes, I said the sentimental pick is New England.

Football fans, remember this: the 2011 NFL season may not have taken place in its entirety, minus the Hall of Fame game, if it weren't for Patriots owner Robert Kraft. No disrespect meant to Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, or Giants owner John Mara, or any of the others that took part in the lockout discussions. Kraft was there, while his wife, Myra, the love of his life, lay dying. She passed away just prior to the deal being completed, and through Kraft's work (which I have heard was instrumental), the season was saved.

You show me a football fan that didn't get a lump in their throat when they saw the image of Kraft and Colts center Jeff Saturday embrace on the day of the lockout's end, and I'll show you a corpse.

So, here you go:

FOOTBALL PICK
Giants 28
Patriots 21

SENTIMENTAL PICK (and Mike's pick)
Giants 24
Patriots 27


Mike Solarte

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