A great catch and changes to the West

A lot happens this week, such as the Cubs pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, the NBA All-Star weekend and some big-time matchups in college hoops. But before we can look ahead, it is important to look back. And nothing would be better at that than doing some random thoughts:

1) What a great Super Bowl game. Going in, I thought the Giants had a chance, but wouldn't be able to contain Brady, Moss, Welker, Maroney, and the rest of the Patriots offense for sixty minutes. My guess (see the last blog post) was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair. Turns out, I was way off. Defense ruled for the first 57 minutes of the game, with the teams scoring a combined 17 points in that time. But then the QB's took over. Tom Brady led New England on a go-ahead scoring drive that was capped with a Randy Moss TD with 2:42. But then Eli Manning got the ball...

Read that last sentence again. Then Eli Manning got the ball. Who would have thought in a million years that those six words would signify a game winning drive in the Super Bowl? But they did. Manning took New York down the field, filled with dramatic throws and downright crazy catches (see thought #2). (Also props to Brandon Jacobs, in the games most underrated play, pushing across the first down line on 4th and 1 with just over a minute left.) It was all capped with a beautiful slant-and-go by Plaxico Burress with 34 seconds left on a 13-yard TD. Game, set, match, 17-14, Giants win. Perfect season--Over. All I could say after it was over was, "wow".

2) Other than New England's perfect season ending, Super Bowl XLII will be remembered most for the 'head-catch' by Giants wideout David Tyree. I'm not going to review the play right now, but I will say this: that was one of the three most amazing plays I have ever seen in all my years watching professional football. I don't have a complete ranking, but it goes on there with Michael Vick (in his pre-incarceration days) escaping the entire Vikings defense and scoring on a fifty-plus yard TD to win a game for the Falcons and Nathan Vasher's 108-yard missed field goal return in 2005 versus the 49ers (More impressive than Devin Hester's 108 yard return because of Vasher's spin at the start; all Hester did was run) All I have to say about Tyree's catch is this: He will never come closer to making a bigger catch in the rest of his life, and his catch rating in Madden '09 better be a lot higher than the 78 it was in '08. (NOTE: I didn't include plays I didn't see live, such as any runs by Gayle Sayers, Jim Brown or Walter Payton, as well no college plays, like the Stanford-Cal play or anything run by Boise State)

3) Turning to the NBA, two big trades in the past two weeks. Firs the Lakers stole Pau Gasol like he was a pack of gum at a gas station, getting the former Grizzlies all-star for Kwame Brown and some first round picks. Now, if I recall correctly, when the Bulls tried to get Gasol last season, Memphis wanted Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and draft picks. Less than a season later, there getting the biggest waste of talent in the league and picks that will be at the end of the first round. Are you kidding me? If Andrew Bynum comes back playing at the same level he was when he weant down with an injury, LA could challenged the Suns, Spurs, Jazz and Mavs for the West title.

The Gasol deal was followed this week by the biggest stunner of them all, the Phoenix Suns trading for Shaq. Yes, that is Shaquille O'Neal. The same Shaq that looks like he is carrying around twin babies up and down the court. The same one that is averaging under 17 points for the first time in his career. In order to acquire him, Phoenix GM Steve Kerr- one of my all-time favorite players- had to give up Shawn Marrion, one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Obviously, Kerr and others think acquiring the Diesel will be helpful. In theory, he can provide a half-court post presence and some key defense against guys like Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, and now Gasol. But I think it may ruin the Suns run-and-gun offense, with O'Neal pressuring Steve Nash to give him the ball instead of kicking out to open shooters, which Nash does so well. We shall see, but it definetly made the Lakers-Suns games a lot more interesting. (If you recall, Mr. Shaq and a guy on the Lakers who wears #24 used to not get along so well.)