Let me start by saying....Samsonite, I was way off. I thought Pedro was going to make his last defiant stand in Game 6, but instead the Yankees celebrated their 27th World Championship. I guess it's time to send ol' Pedro to the glue factory.
So the Yankees are champions again, what else is new. The majority of my friends are Yankees fans, and I'm fine with that, I hope they are happy. I can easily interact and be friends with them because most of them are not outwardly obnoxious. However that is not the case for all yankee fans (actually for all fans in general). I would like to tell you all about one of the most agonizing sports situations I have ever been in.
For Game 6 I decided to go out to a bar with a coach I work with, a LARGE man who played defensive tackle at Boston College. I only mention this because he took full advantage of the 25 cent wing special by ordering 80 wings for the two of us. We almost finished them, and when the game got out of hand, people were actually watching us to see if we could finish them. We didn't but we had to polish off about 60. I digress....working in Long Island, about 20 minutes from Yankee Stadium, every sports bar within a 40 mile radius was a Yankee bar. So it goes without saying that I was rooting hard for the Phillies, not just because of my dislike of the Yankees, but so that it would be an enjoyable night. It wasn't. They were chanting "DEREK JETER", "TWENTY SEVEN" and many other obnoxious incantations. By the 7th inning I could tell this was not going to end well for me, and I decided after almost 3 hours of suffering I had to get out. I think the Chinese Water Torture might have been a better alternative. And I had to deal with the ridiculous accents and egos that just made the atmosphere even more unbearable. The Pauper, wise and enlightened that he is, told me I will be a better person for dealing with this. However, I have yet to see the benefits.
Switching gears, I decided to get in touch with Steamin Willie Beamen, because it had been a while since he made an appearance on the blog. Steamin' was suffering from a massive case of writer's block and as it turns out he just needed some inspiration from my New York Giants. The G-Men have hit a rough patch (I'm being generous) and as the Patriots fan that he is, he couldn't help but take a few shots at the boys in blue. Now I have a strict "no censoring" rule for the contributors, so I will air the piece as he intended. But before you read this piece just think about the disclaimer that comes before a movie.
The views and opinions expressed are that of its author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the ETC corporation, it's creator, or any affiliate programs associated with ETC. ETC. ETC. They are solely the views of its creator, Steamin Willie Beamen.
Steamin' Willie Beamen
Since When Does J.D. Drew play QB for the New York Giants?
The joy of writing this spot comes at the expense of three of my good friends. Not only does the fearless leader of the blog hopelessly devote himself to the big blue bum crew but two of my buddies from Maine love the hopeless helpless New York Little Giants. Their pain over the last few weeks has been such a joy to listen to and watch that I can not imagine a better situation. Its like having Christmas four weekends in a row. It seems like it happened so fast. I mean just 2.5 years ago I was on my hands and knees taking it like an inmate from all these idiots who got the pleasure of divine intervention as the haunted David Tyree made not only the most improbable catch in Super Bowl history but Eli Manning channeled his inner Mike Vick and escaped three different defenders who were tracking him in the backfield only to close his eyes drop his back shoulder and throw the ball in the air hoping that God may guide it into the hands of a horrible receiver who would need to hold on while getting hit by the assassin Rodney Harrison. That was a long run on sentence but it needed to be said and read with out pause so as not to prolong the misery that comes with that memory. And it is the single event that changed my entire outlook on whether miracles were possible. I do not want to discount what the Giants were able to do by beating the Pats but the stars aligned that night and they seem to have lost that connection ever since.
In my opinion the loss of players like Mike Stra, CheddarPlax, G-Bril, Hair Mitchell, and others is the easy way for Chris Carter and his friends to explain why the ggggggg-men have lost their luster. The reality of the situation is that it is just the opposite. The problem is the guy who still remains not the guys who have left. The issue lies on the shoulders of one often criticized and often misunderstood Eli Manning. I went into Sunday thinking there is no chance that a Super Bowl MVP with the better team at home against a west coast team that isn’t that good, the same team that he forced his way out of when they gave him the honor of not only being their number one pick but being the number one pick overall. This guy had everything to prove and still found a way to get out dueled by the foul mouth from the south, a guy who may be the complete opposite personality and a much better QB. How does he continue to be this fun loving awww shux type of guy? I want to go a little off the reservation and compare the guy to another fun loving loser J.D. Drew.
Now I find myself looking at both of these guys and coming to the same conclusion…they may not be “losers” but they are definitely not the guys you want standing next to you when shit hits the fan. Forget their respective sports, if a fight was going to break out they would be the last two picked. You might just send them both after each other knowing nothing bad would happen to either of them, other then mystery injuries and some awkward conversation. It is amazing to think that Giants fans have been excited about this guy. If his brother and father did not exist no one would even think this guy was good. I mean he plays football but can’t throw the ball when its cold? How much of a puss is this guy. I would take Brett Favre drunk perked out of his mind in a wheel chair because I would know that he would die for that inch. Come on people what is the big problem with realizing that Eli is J.D.?
To continue on the thread of guys who are still on the roster who are causing the problem look at the running back situation. It blows my mind that the best part of the entire franchise has been their ability to accumulate running backs and offensive lineman and of the guys that they got rid of (Ryan Grant and Derrick Ward) they kept Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw??? I do not claim to know everything about everything or even anything about anything but I can say that when I am looking for a running back that can tote the rock 25 times a game I surly would not want two complementary backs like Jacobs or Bradshaw. I would want the guy who is a combination of both, i.e. Ward or Grant.
Those two issues are just part of the problem. The fact of the matter is that the Jints are going to need to find an identity or they will suffer the same fate as teams like the 09 Boston Red Sox or the 00-08 Yankees. Football is about leadership, balls, and scoring in the red zone. I wonder every day if the Pats had just rolled a safety to Plax we never ever ever would have had to consider Eli Manning as a super star because all he is, is another J.D. Drew. Convincing people he is good because of “potential” and their “even keel”. That is crap. Anyone who has ever seen Ali, Jordan, Favre, Brady, Magic, Manny, or Ray Ray know that personality not only matters it sometimes makes the difference. I am not saying the Giants are doomed but I would put a “look out” on the rest of their season and truthfully the rest of the J.D. Manning era.
-Steamin' Willie Beamen
There you have it everybody. It pained me to post that, but I can't argue with some of his points. The Giants have been miserable the past 4 weeks and the blame, whether justly or unjustly, falls on the QB and the Head Coach. Eli has been up and down, but during the losing streak he has been down. Now their secondary is depleted and potentially season threateningly bad, but we need more consistency from Eli.
I will leave you today with a little diddy from our friend Pasquale. He is gearing up for another Fab 5, but during a recent conversation about Thanksgiving, Pasquale told us how he attends 2 Thanksgiving dinners. This amazed me, as Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I wanted to know everything, so he explained it as only Pasquale can. I give you Pasquale......
i'll break it down in terms of tempos for a college practice, the tempos being
live - full go, cut blocks, full game conditions
thud - fit into your blocks and set your pads, basically the same as live minus cuts, but keeping everything high for the most part
tag - get into position to make the play and just let them go, basically only reserved for a friday practice
Antipast - Live
Time between antipast and turkey - tag (primarily candy and chips, salsa, etc during this stage)
First main meal - thud (still trying to recover from the antipast, but dont want to blow my load and ruin the other parts of the upcoming meals)
First Desert - Live (i lose control around cannolis, sofgliatelle, cookies, pie, etc etc, etc)
Second appetizers- live (maryellen's mother makes increddible spinach balls)
Second dinner - thud
Second Desert - live
Food coma
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