Take four nearly equal poker players give them the same amount of chips and you’ll be hard pressed to pick a winner more than 1 out of 4 times. In the NFC East, there is the possibility the standings could be headed by any of the four teams, and it’s entirely possible any of the four teams could come in dead last. Not to demean the Dallas Cowboys who are a favorite in the division and in the entire league but the difference between them and the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins isn’t as a great as many observers might think. Poker is an apt comparison this year, because the division won’t be decided between the lines this year, but more likely between the ears of the starting quarterbacks.
The Dallas Cowboys have a quarterback that wears his emotions on his sleeve, and usually he’s in high spirits. His joy of the game reminds some of Bret Farve, if only he had the arm strength and the deep playoff runs to go with the spirit. Romo is set this year to join the upper echelon of quarterbacks in the league and contend for a Super Bowl. Though the favorite, there are still question marks with the Cowboys.
Winning their first playoff game in more than a decade should inspire confidence. However, what the Cowboys have struggled with recently is getting over the hump. In the clutch, there are still ghosts of Romo’s failures circling the team and if things start to go bad, it could snowball into an in implosion. Nonetheless if they stay healthy they’ll win the tough division by a couple of games and this may finally be Tony’s year to realize his potential. Record 13-3.
Second in the East will be a three-way battle. Any of the remaining teams are capable of stringing together a season to upend Dallas, and certainly all are able of finishing runner-up. The Washington Redskins added two pieces to the puzzle. Donovan McNabb arrives as the first franchise quarterback in years, and Mike Shannahan looks to have a steadying hand.
A new QB and a new coach often times means a year or two of rebuilding but the rest of the pieces are there in DC. The defense has the pieces to improve and should benefit from an offense not leaving them in the lurch as often as last year. A few players have some wear on the treads but they also have the experience, and desire to get to the playoffs again. They will be a tough out, and with McNabb carrying a chip on his shoulder, and him always seeming to thrive when he does, the Redskins will pip the Eagles (to McNabb’s delight) and the Giants. 10-6.
The New York Giants are Eli Manning’s team. He’ll be called on to do more this year than any other year. He has a Super Bowl trophy on the shelf and in his personal competition with his brother Peyton must eager to get back to the game and get a second. He has the glum hang-dog face of a career Texas Holdem poker player and it remains to see if he has the gumption and guile of one to carry his team. 8-8.
The Philadelphia Eagles could be a surprising underdog in this divison. They have a new quarterback in Kevin Kolb, and unlike their former quarterback and the Redskin’s new one, Kolb doesn’t have a resume of success. Still, the Eagles had some electric pieces around McNabb last year. Kolb doesn’t have the diversity in skills that McNabb has but the Eagles and Andy Reid are banking on him being steady enough for success. With Michael Vick lurking in the wings Kolb better be steady.
Nothing tears a team apart quicker than a quarterback controversy, and one or two bad outings by Kolb will certainly have some in the stands and maybe in the locker room clamoring for Vick. Even worse for Kolb he’ll also be competing with Donovan McNabb week in and week out. He’s in a bad spot. As such, the Eagles will falter. Then again backups like Kurt Warner and Tom Brady in the last decade have been given the keys to a team and done just fine too. 6-10.
What are the best sources of MLB Baseball news?
There is news and there is speculation. Unfortunately it has become common practice to confuse the two concepts with the effect that we have a situation whereby the people that are looking for the news get speculation and the people looking for speculation get the news. The internet is a very good source but unfortunately it does not always pay attention to the accuracy of the information that is coming out of the different elements that are on display. For example absolutely anyone can come up with a story and give it the slant that they want. The blogs do not have any quality control when it comes to the MLB Baseball news. However there is one advantage that the obvious factual errors are quickly picked up and put away in the most effective manner.
I normally go for the specialist websites or the official MLB Baseball website. Here you will not get the drama but there is plenty of factual information that might turn out to be very useful when it comes to deciding the very best ways of challenging the different operations that you have in hand. In the end the proof will come from the expert journalists that look through the reels and come up with the right balance between interest and the genuine need to have accurate information that is accessible to the readers.
ESPN is doing a very good job of providing news about MLB Baseball. The problem is that the world wide audience is not getting as much traction with it as possible. The game is too American for some people and they do not take the time to review the effectiveness of the strategies that have been given to it. We need to ensure that there is a way of providing this sort of information to an international audience. They are the people that are ultimately going to deliver the information in the formats that we expected. They will also be responsible for analyzing it with a view about the different facets that it presents for the public.
Highlights for the Golfing Weeks
There is news that KJ Choi and Richard Johnson are doing very well at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters. On the other hand Oosthuizen is having something of a nightmare. Both Choi and Johnson were holding a one shot lead the last time we checked on the updates. Morgan Pressel of the USA is also doing some good things on the Evian Masters although the competition there is quite strong in itself. Another player that is enjoying some success is Tetsuji Hiratsuka who is having some impressive runs at the Sega Sammy Cup. At the third round even led at sixty nine. There was also some good news for the duo of Time Clark and Dean Wilson. They were doing very well at the halfway point of the Canadian Open.
We should not forget Bernard Langer and Corey Pavin amongst the people that have impressed on the Senior Open Championship. It is heartening to note that age is really no obstacle to playing good gold. The fans at Carnoustie enjoyed a rare treat of seeing the stars in the evening of their careers. We also report an honorary membership for Tom Watson who is now with the European tour. Colin Montgomerie has picked the vice captains for the Ryder Cup and the pundits are pleased with the selection. It remains to be seen whether they will make Europe proud. It is also reported that Anthony Kim hopes to return to the Ryder Cup team after all the hard work that he has put into his game. Golfing has met farming when the Champion Louis Oosthuizen bought a tractor to make his win. Those that have wanted to caddie for the stars will get a chance to work for Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. Just make sure that you are at the Irish Open.
The week has been very interesting with all the different champions having their ups and downs. Some people have been down all the time while others have enjoyed some unexpected success. We also have to consider the future development of the sport within the capsule of the Ryder Cup.
As tennis has shown us, Serbia is very capable of producing extra ordinary stars. Germany was wary and they were very right to be wary. It is one of the greatest soccer nations in the history of the game. They have a solid game that can wear down any opponent no matter how much drama they claim to bring to the table. The Germans are a reliable fixture on the World Cup scene. Serbia can be good but it is just finding its stride at the moment. One would expect that they would give Germany some problems. In the worst case scenario a draw would be tolerable in the circumstances. However the opposite was true. The Serbians capitalized on the absence of some members of the German team and they went for their shots.
At the same time they refused to buckle under pressure. Every time that you though the pressure would get to them, Serbia continued to perform. In the end they were able to hang on to their goal and ensure that one of the great favorites at the tournament suffered defeat. There is a feeling that Germany might be able to turn it around if given the chance. It will remain to be seen whether they will go through to the next rounds and start to make an impact on the game. The alternative is an early exit that does not give them the chance to go for glory. The technique is still there but they have to win even where the opposition is playing inspired soccer. Serbia played very well and Germany played find.
In their heyday, the Germans would have had no problem putting away their opponents but there have been lots of changes that have affected both the Germans and the teams that they compete against. This World Cup event in particular has shown that the underdogs are more than capable of scoring an upset if they find a team that is a bit shaky on the ground. You have to be on the money all the time in order to win on the big stage.
