Stinker

Vinny Gambini: Oh, a counter-offer. That's what we lawyers - I'm a lawyer - we lawyers call that a counter-offer. This is a tough decision here. Get my ass kicked or collect $200. Let me think... I could use a good ass-kickin', I'll be very honest with you... nah, I think I'll just go with the two hundred. My Cousin Vinny (1992)

One need not be an athlete, nor watch sports very long or often, to be acquainted with "The Blowout." Seemingly professional, well-prepared teams peaking at just the right time throw down an awful performance. Bike racers in top shape get spit out the back of the peleton, .300 hitters struggle to make contact.... A certain Hall of Fame quarterback goes from "Omaha" to "Oh My God!" in an instant. Shit gets real...real fast.

Last year, game one of the World Series.  "Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma committed a pair of costly errors, including a missed catch on the front half of what might have been an inning-ending double play grounder hit by David Ortiz in the first. Second base umpire Dana DeMuth initially ruled that Kozma lost the ball on the transition, but the crew held a brief meeting and changed the call.

Mike Napoli made Kozma and the Cardinals pay for the gaffe by depositing a cutter fromAdam Wainwright into left-center field for a bases-clearing double, giving Boston an early three-run lead.

An inning later, Wainwright and Yadier Molina allowed a harmless pop up off the bat ofStephen Drew fall between them in front of the mound. Three batters later, Kozma's second error loaded the bases, and the Red Sox added a couple more runs -- although it could have been more, if not for Carlos Beltran's catch to rob Ortiz of a grand slam." So said ESPN. 

In a "one and done" the stinker is a season killer. Happening in the Super Bowl, it is impossible to hide. The Broncos threw down a stinker. Roger that. 

Welcome home, Broncos. It was a classic season. 

It's Not Show Friends

I wrote the below post just after the Broncos' loss to New England. Recently, the Denver Broncos have been front and center in the great Payton Manning Sweepstakes. Or is it the Great Payton Manning, etc. Jason Gay, writer with more talent in his shift finger than I possess everywhere else, suggests that the Broncos are being tacky. With thanks to Bob Sugar ( of Jerry Maguire fame) everyone knows its show business, not show friends. But the ungrateful crowd at Dove Valley need some lessons in grace.

A Good Old-Fashioned Ass Kicking

When someone kicks your ass, just be thankful you brought it with you. No one likes to show up unprepared.

I just wonder, as Tim Tebow meandered around the field - alone - after losing 45-10, who was going to put an arm around him and say that everyone endures days like he had. At least he didn't give up. Or, something.

Instead, he wandered around looking for someone to talk to. I wonder....

When he looks around the locker room tonight in Massachusetts, does he see friends? A band of brothers?

Or, a room full of people who were just along for the ride.

A Good, Old Fashioned Ass Kicking

When someone kicks your ass, just be thankful you brought it with you. No one likes to show up unprepared.

I just wonder, as Tim Tebow meandered around the field - alone - after losing 45-10, who was going to put an arm around him and say that everyone endures days like he had. At least he didn't give up. Or, something.

Instead, he wandered around looking for someone to talk to. I wonder....

When he looks around the locker room tonight in Massachusetts, does he see friends? A band of brothers?

Or, a room full of people who were just along for the ride.

Playoffs? Playoffs?*

Well, now. Who woulda thunk it. And what did the winning quarterback say about an especially improbable win?

The receivers make him look better than he really is.

Maybe that's true, maybe he just tosses the ball in someone's direction and lets them try to make a play. Maybe this whole thing has been one stroke of dumb luck after another, a cacophony of happenstance, the unpredictable outcomes of an inept, ill-suited flash-in-the-pan making it up as he goes along.

A Young Kid with a Dream - BUMPED

"It's not show friends, it's show business."*

Tim Tebow. Has there been an equally polarizing sports figure in the last decade, at least here in Denver? Even I - did he ride the Tour de France for Radio Shack, or Garmin? - I have an opinion.

Last week's game against Detroit, he was pretty bad. This week, he made a few plays, got the ball to open receivers and did a bit of running. Got knocked on his butt a few times, too. In the end, he did what professional athletes of all shapes and sizes do - he contributed to his team's victory.

There was a poignant little moment, right at the end, where a few of the Raiders had some after-the-battle comments for him. I couldn't hear them, of course, but the facial expressions and body language said - "Nice game, kid. You did fine today."

Maybe he won't make it. Maybe he has the wrong skill set for the NFL. But, damn...a young kid on a cloudy Sunday afternoon in especially hostile Oakland did the job he's always dreamed of earning.

What a great moment.

UPDATE: "He believes in what he believes in." Von Miller.

Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post suggests that pro sports could use a little bit of enthusiasm for something other than "showcasing my skills" attitudes. Isn't it nice to see a group of professionals rally around the idea that "they" make each other stronger?

*Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Jerry Maguire, 1996.