Wild Card Weekend / Wild Card Road Trip

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Maybe it was all the buzz I kept hearing on sports radio 660am (WFAN). Maybe it was the animated shouting of Mike Francesa, informing Jets fans that their victory over the Colts was a gift. Or maybe it was the rallying cries of Craig Carton, who all week long was coordinating a Jets prep rally, while planning to cross the Brooklyn Bridge in a Speedo. Carton was already proclaiming victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in wild card weekend. Maybe it was Chad Johnson informing the media his knee was fine, after he worked it out over a recent evening of sexual activity. (The story was featured in the New York Post). Or maybe it was just all the playoff hype and excitement that can be found in late January when the NLF’s playoff season kicks offs.

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Whatever the reason, I decided to take a look on Stub Hub to see what playoff tickets were going for in Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium for the Jets/Bengals wildcard game. NFL tickets are always ridiculously expensive. Even prices for a regular season game tend to be out of control. So when I fired up my computer I was expecting to see the same outrageous prices I was accustomed to. To my immediate shock, decent seats in the upper deck and end zone were available in Cincinnati for as low as $40.00. I was stunned! Surely this was not what I was prepared for! I could never see an Eagles or Giants game for $40.00 bucks even in the preseason, let alone the playoffs. About the same time that my eyes were discovering these ticket prices on Stub Hub, my fingers began texting my Misses. On a complete whim, I wrote: “do you want to go to Cincinnati?” Well I should have known better. One of the things she loves most about me is my spontaneity. Actually it’s a love hate thing, but in the case of an NFL cross-country road trip, it was all love this time.

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I began thinking about the long strange season for both these NFL teams I was about to see.

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The 2009/2010 Cincinnati Bengals were well documented on the HBO series “Hard Knocks” (a multi piece documentary commemorating their preseason and August practice schedule) to kick off the season. The stern leadership from owner Mike Brown, the dominating personality of head coach Marvin Lewis, and the usual antics of Chad Johnson, were all captured very intimately. The Cincinnati Bengals overcame tremendous adversity over the long football season. They overcame injuries, tragic deaths within the organization, a shaky second half, and a losing reputation throughout the league. (The Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1990, and have only made the playoffs once between then and now.)

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Then there are the New York Jets. They technically started their 2009/2010 season by losing Brett Farve and Eric Mangini. NFL coaching heir and defensive guru, Rex Ryan; and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez quickly replaced them. Ryan, who New Yorkers rapidly learned, doesn’t do any thing small. His media comments are as large and outrageous as is his stomach. Ryan, wrote the Jets off after their week 16 loss to Atlanta, saying that his team had been “eliminated from the playoffs”. Then he came back a day later only to apologize for not knowing his team was still alive and in the playoff hunt. Then before his week 17 match up against the Colts, Rex made a Christmas wish list of players he wanted Indianapolis to bench.

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It was safe to say when we began our 630-mile drive to Cincinnati that this was arguably the most exciting match up of wild card weekend. It took us about eight hours to make the drive from central New Jersey. We did three plus hours on Friday night, and another five on Saturday morning.

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We arrived at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati right at game time. An insane amount of Bengals fans, wearing a sea of orange and black were slowly pouring into the gates around the stadium. There were some Jets fans to be seen, but they were certainly in the vast minority. The noise level was off the charts; the weather was freezing cold.

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Then with 67,000 NFL fans screaming at the top of their lungs, Jets kicker Jay Feely booted the football to the Cincinnati offense to open the game. Bernard Scott caught Feely’s kick at the 8-yard line and returned it 56 yards to start the NFL post season. The Bengals offense went to work on the Jets 36 yard line, and the roar of the crowd was as loud as it would be all day.
Just when it looked as though Cincinnati would have at least a field goal on their opening drive, a fumble recovery by the Jet’s Shaun Ellis led to the first turnover of the day. The Jets would run just six plays on offense before punting the ball right back to the Bengals.

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The Battle of two of the AFC’s top defenses was well underway.

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The first touch down of the game finally occurred with 7:13 left in quarter number one. Carson Palmer dropped a short pass to his left. Laveranues Coles caught the pass, and ran the ball from the 11 yard line, down to the front left pylon and scored the first Bengal points of the post season.

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The first quarter ended with the score 7-0 Cincinnati.

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I had yet to actually sit in my seat through a quarter of football. As it turned out, it didn’t sit more then five minutes during the entire game.

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The Jets and Mark Sanchez had a real hard time moving the ball on the Bengals. In the Jets first 19 plays on offense, they had just 2 first downs. They were looking more and more like the team that struggled down the stretch, before winning their last two games of the regular season. The Jets were trying desperately to break out of their funk by running the ball.
Finally at 12:41 in the second quarter, the Jets running game broke through. It was the run of Jets back, Shonn Green who tied the game. From 39 yards out Green entered the left end of the end zone once again scoring a touch down in the same magic corner of the field that Laveranues Coles had just scored in. Only now the Jets had tied the game at 7-7.

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On the very next Cincinnati possession, the Bengals would turn the ball over to the Jets yet again. A Carson Palmer interception put the New York offense back on the field. Then the play of the game unfolded right before my eyes. I watched as Mark Sanchez rolled out of the pocket, and to his right, while on the Bengals 45 yard line. He began running toward the Jets side line, while looking to pitch a short pass. When he saw that every eligible receiver within 10 yards of him was covered, Sanchez saw an open Dustin Keller near the 20 yard line. Sanchez threw a pass that met Keller down field, and the Jets tight-end took it from there. Keller reached the end zone, breaking the plain with the ball, good for a Jets 14-7 lead.

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The half-time score was, 14-7 the New York Jets over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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I am still having tremendous difficulty describing, in written word, just how cold it was Saturday night in Cincinnati. The Misses lost feeling in her toes, and had to shove a hand warmer down each of her sneakers at half time. I could feel my eyes getting cold, as they were exposed to the frigid air, and they began to water. I was shivering and shaking, and I had cracked open every hand warmer I had with me. As the sun went down the temperature fell well below 23 degrees. The Bengal crowd grew cold and quite, and the momentum was now with the Jets. At 2:23 of the third quarter Thomas Jones scored the Jets third touch down from 9-yards out. The score was 21-7 and the game felt all but over.

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Then Bengals star running back Cedric Benson gave the Cincinnati fans a glimmer of hope. Benson ran a 47-yard touchdown route, to make the score 21-14. The Cincinnati crowd came out of their slump and tried to rally around their team for a very brief moment. But then, on the very next possession the Jets Jay Feely kicked a 20-yard field goal, and the Jets were up by two scores with only 5:17 left in the game.

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The Bengals fate was sealed when Carson Palmer was sacked on his own 43-yard line. Jets defensive lineman, Shaun Ellis, engulfed Palmer’s body, and dropped him to the turf. It was 4th and 22 for Cincinnati, when Palmer hit the ground. The sack ended the game and the season for the Bengals. Mark Sanchez kneeled three times after the two minute warning, and the game was over.

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The final score to game one of wild card weekend was 24-14 the New York Jets over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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At the end of the day, the Cincinnati Bengals can only blame themselves. The turnovers, failed video challenges, and two missed field goals were the reason they lost on Saturday. The New York Jets did not beat the Bengals, the Bengals beat the Bengals.

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Watching Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan exit the stadium from the tunnel just below me (slightly to the right of my section) was an experience like no other. They were so pumped up, grinning from ear to ear. They acknowledged all the die-hard/extreme Jet fans, which made the road trip, and were still hanging out, and cheering them on in the 90% empty stadium.

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For the Bengals the waiting game begins today. Its now 364 days of hard work and dedication, just to get back to where they were yesterday. The Bengals road to the 2010-2011 post season starts right now. It's the kind of grueling exercise that caused coaching legend Bill Parcells to retire from the sidelines. The waiting is truly the hardest part. Luckily coach Marvin Lewis is young and his sprit looks to still be strong.

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For the Jets, it’s on to San Diego. Another week of hype and excitement on WFAN. Another week of outrageous comments from Rex Ryan. Another sudden death playoff game on the path to the Super Bowl. But this time I will not be checking Stub Hub for San Diego Charger tickets. At least I don’t think I will

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Top Ten Of 2009

Without Futher delay, here are my top ten athletes of 2009:

1) Santonio Holmes- Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

2) Angel Cabrera- PGA Masters Champion

3) Sidney Crosby- Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins

4) Kobe Bryant- NBA Finals MVP Los Angeles Lakers

5) Jonathan Sanchez-No Hitter San Fransisco Giants
6) Mark Buehrle- Perfect Game Chicago White Sox
7) Alex Rodriguez- World Series Champion New York Yankee

8) Mariano Rivera- World Series Champion New York Yankee

9) Brett Farve- Quarter Back, Playoff bound Minnesota Vikings

10) Peyton Manning- Quarter Back, Playoff bound Indianapolis Colts

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It looked like an Arizona Cardinal victory in Super Bowl forty-three. All of my family assembled in the Burger Palace, in down town Bloomington, were rooting for Arizona, and now a mild celebration had begun. Then in a stunning turn of events, Ben Rohelisburger charged is Pittsburgh Steelers offensive down the field. The Burger Palace grew silent. In one of the most impressive two-minute drills in Super Bowl history Big Ben had his team on the six-yard line, with a first and goal. Then on second and goal Big Ben lofted a pass into the far corner of the end zone. The lighting fast pass should have sailed out of bounds, and it should have bounced up against the first row of seats. As millions around the world watched Ben’s pass fly deep, two gloved hands emerged out of now where. They were the hands of Santonio Holmes. Holmes, the Steelers wide receiver, was a rising star in both Pittsburgh and the NFL alike. Santonio, caught Ben’s deep pass, showed possession, and then somehow some way dragged the tippy toes of both his feet onto the red painted end zone grass before falling out of bounds. With 35 seconds left in the game, the Steelers had scored the last touch down of Super Bowl forty-three. The catch by Holmes was the play of the season. It made him a Super Bowl Champion, and kicked off 2009’s sports calendar year.

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The 2009 Masters Tournament brought with it an excitment that hasn’t been seen in PGA golf for a long time. All day on Easter Sunday 2009, I kept running back and forth from my uncle’s living room to the kitchen. Pacing back and forth, I kept delivering updates of the action from Augusta to anyone who would listen. As the eighteenth hole approached for the leaders, two very different stories were playing out simultaneously. On one part of the course, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson where battling each other in attempts to make historic comebacks. While their combined efforts fell short, the other story on the course did not. Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry, and Chad Campbell all battled for first place in Golf’s most coveted achievement. It was a three way dead lock rarely seen in golf period, let alone the Masters Tournament. As Tiger and Phil fell by the waist side, a three-way tie had emerged at the top of the leader board after 18 holes had been played. (The tie, largely due to the back-to-back bogies on 17 and 18 by Kenny Perry.) I had declared Kenny Perry the winner long before the tournament was over and as usual, when predicting things in the world of sports, I was wrong. As the sudden death extra play unfolded, it would be Angel Cabrera who would emerge on top. Cabrera picked off his linked foes one at a time! Campbell was the first to go on the first extra hole. His bogey on 19 dropped him to third place. Then on the second sudden death hole of the tournament Cabrera came out one shot ahead of Kenny Perry. The Green Jacket belonged to the 40 year old Argentinean. His low profile, unexpected path to victory at the Masters, makes him one of golf’s great stories of 2009.

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They absolutely deserve to win! The Pittsburgh Penguins were down 2-0 to the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the quest for the 2009 Stanley Cup. The Penguins muscled back to tie the series 2-2, only to fall again (down 3-2 in the series). But when they had to win a game seven on the road in Detroit, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins that had overcome tremendous adversity to win the Stanley Cup. The leader of a once proud historic franchise back on top, is no other then Sidney Crosby. Crosby desperately tried to return to the ice after a crippling injury forced him out of game seven. But the vision of Crosby lifting the Cup high over his head, while skating around Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena is one that will always stick with me in remembering the world of sports in 2009. Crosby, the 22-year-old captain of the Penguins has been pegged as the NHL’s next Wayne Gretsky. Weather or not he will become a Hall Of Fame hockey icon remains to be seen. However a Stanley Cup Championship in just his fourth year in the league, is a very good start.

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“Yeah, but can he do it without Shaq?” “Where would he be without the big man?”
“Until he gets his own Championship, he will forever be in O’Neal’s shadow.”

They are all quotes that had to drive Lakers Point Guard Kobe Bryant crazy.

The feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal has been well documented, since Shaq’s departure from the Lakers in 2004. O’Neal quickly won another NBA title as part of the Miami Heat. However Kobe went on a title-less drought after the 2002 season.

From 2002 to 2009 Kobe remained among the leagues very best players, but could never attain Championship greatness. He tried to force a trade, his antics played out on ESPN. Then finally in 2009 all the pieces of the puzzle finally came together for Kobe and the Lakers. The Lakers plowed through the 2009 playoffs and found themselves in a Championship match up with the underdog Orlando Magic.

In just five games Kobe and the Lakers dominated an over matched Orlando Magic team.
In 23 playoff games in 2009 Kobe averaged 30.2 points a game. He scored 162 total points in the Finals, and was quickly named the finals MVP.

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He had absolutely no business even starting on July 10th 2009. With absolutely no notice before a Friday night home start against the San Diego Padres, manager Bruce Bochy gave Giant’s pitcher Jonathan Sanchez a shot. Bochy had to scratch the scheduled starter, Randy Johnson, due to shoulder soreness. But as I wrote: Sanchez had absolutely no business starting on the July 10th Giants game. Surely Bochy could have found a better starter. Sanchez had been demoted to the bullpen almost three weeks prior to this emergency spot start. He had not started a game since June 22nd and he had not won a game since May 25th. His 2-8 record, and 5.30 ERA were among the worst on the team. Yet for some unknown reason manger Bruce Bochy went with Sanchez. In another strange turn of events, Jonathan’s father had just flown in from Puerto Rico. Sigfredo Sanchez had never seen is son pitch at the Major League level, and when he boarded his flight there was no guarantee he would see his bullpen occupying son pitch either. All the little variables lining up for Sanchez, spoke to something bigger: his fathers unique appearance, Randy Johnson’s ailing shoulder, Bruce Bochy’s hunch. But just then fate stepped in. Sanchez dominated the San Diego Padres. In a remarkable 110-pitch outing (77 for strikes) Jonathan Sanchez fell just one error short of a perfect game. He faced just 28 batters and picked up the only no-hitter of 2009. After the game he embraced his father who finally saw his son make good on a dream. He also just happened to see him make history too!

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On Thursday, July 23rd 2009, White Sox ace Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Rays. With 28,036 fans at U.S. Cellular Field, on the South side of Chicago Buehrle made Tampa’s hitters look lost at the plate. Working mainly with his fastball, and mixing in the occasional curve, changeup and slider, Buehrle needed just 116 pitches to attain perfection. The game lasted just two hours, and three minutes, as Buehrle became just the 18th pitcher in Major League history to retire all twenty-seven batters in a game. Two very honorable mentions go out to Buehrle’s perfect game, are his manager and center fielder. Manager Ozzie Gullien substituted defensive Center Fielder Dewayne Wise in the top of the ninth inning. Wise made a spectacular catch for the first out in the ninth inning, robbing Gabe Kapler of a certain extra base hit. Two batters later Buehrle had achieved “baseball immortality” to quote Yankees radio announcer John Sterling. The win propelled Buehrle to an 11-3 record on the year. But unfortunately for Mark and the sox, it would prove to be the last highlight in a disappointing season. Mark’s perfect game was one of the legendary moments of 2009.

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On May 8th, Alex Rodriguez stepped into a batters box for the first time in 2009 in Camden Yards in town down Baltimore. Alex had missed the Yankee’s first 28 games recovering from hip surgery. Originally, the Yankees feared A-Rod’s hip surgery would to cost him the entire 2009 season. Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie had two runners on base, with one out as A-Rod began his season. Guthrie’s first pitch was an 89 MPH fastball, about belt high on the inner half of home plate. A-Rod swung at the pitch with tremendous speed and force. The ball was launched high and deep to left. It landed in the left field stands. It was Rodriguez’s first hit, first homerun, and first three RBI’s of the year. It was just the start of a magical season for A-Rod, who finally became the most dependable and clutch hitter in baseball. Alex hit .286, with 30 homeruns and 100 RBI’s. He homered in his first at bat of the regular season, and in his last at bat as well. But his post-season numbers are the real reason for his appearance on my list. He hit .387 with 6 homeruns and 18 RBI’s in 15 games that mattered most. All the more remarkable is that 5 of his 6 homeruns came in games that the Yankees were losing at the time. They went on to win five of the six games. He is baseball’s highest paid player, the highest profile athlete in New York, and now in 2009 he is finally a World Series Champion.

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All September long I was growing more and more concerned about the post-season reputation of Mariano Rivera. His surgically repaired shoulder, it receding hair line, his frail looking body to go with his 37 year old life all scared me moving forward to October’s playoff baseball. After all, Mo and I are the exact same height, yet he weighs 50 pounds less then me. So what did Mo do in 2009? He remained the iconic figure in professional sports he has always been. Revolutionizing a sports position that remains in its infancy, Mo is without a doubt the Babe Ruth of relief pitchers. I might have been scared for Mo, but he put all my fears and all Yankee fan fears to bed with awesome ease.

Joel Sherman, in his book, Birth of A Dynasty, called Mariano Rivera the weapon no other team in baseball can match. Tom Verducci wrote in Sports Illustrated “Mo’s blessed right arm is like the hammer of god.” And teammate Alex Rodriguez said of Rivera: “To me, he's the greatest modern day weapon I have seen or played against. He has been the heart and soul of the New York Yankees dynasty."

I could sit here and write up stats until I’m blue in the face, about Rivera’s 2009 season. But here are the only two that really matter: Mo closed out the 2009 All-Star game in July, insuring an American League victory yet again. And he gave up just a single run in 12 post-season games versus the Twins, Angels and Phillies combined. Rivera picked up five saves in his 16 innings of playoff work. Just after the World Series Rivera said he plans on pitching another five years. I will continue to worry, but the Sandman seems to always put my worries to bed.

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I hate Brett Farve!!! “I’m retired, I’m not retired, I’m retired, and I’m not retired!” Those of are the wondrous quotes from the two-year saga known fondly as the Brett Farve show. This is the kind of off the field nonsense that infuriates me! What a player does when he is not performing should never ever make a headline in sports, unless its charitable work! Yet for the last two NFL off-seasons the Brett Farve show, of no substance or content has kept ESPN busy, and fans annoyed. Then this past August came Farve’s signing with the Minnesota Vikings. All I kept thinking about was Fave’s interception in the NFC Championship game against the Giants two years ago. It was his very last play as a Green Bay Packer. I figured there were many more plays just like that one in store for Farve in Minnesota. Boy was I wrong! I hate to admit it but I have to give credit where credit is due. Farve has lead an above average Minnesota team to near Super Bowl contention. Brett led the Vikings to an 11-2 start through the first 13 Minnesota games. Only two teams were better through 13/16th of the NFL season (The two other teams: The 13-0 New Orleans Saints and the 13-0 Indianapolis Colts.) Brett has passed for over 3,800 yards this season. He has thrown 29 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions. (Stats valid through December 27th.) Weather you love him or hate him, (I’m sticking with the hate) Brett Farve’s ability to lead an offense and quarter back, remains at the top of the NFL. Brett turns 41 this October, but I wouldn’t rule out a return for his 20th season in professional football. But first Brett will likely retire a few more times.

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He is quickly becoming one of the game’s most idol figures of all time. The only thing that eludes him is multiple Super Bowl rings. He is smart and inventive. His reflexes are inspiring, and his adaptability is like no other. But his results are what make him the very best. He is of course Indianapolis Colts Quarter Back, Peyton Manning. The last week of 2009 was not exactly a great one for Manning. It was only the second time in 2009 that a Peyton Manning took a lost on a football field. No other team or sportsman can say that, but in the calendar year that was 2009, Manning only lost two games!!! *(First loss was January 3rd in the AFC playoffs to the San Diego Chargers. The second loss was last Sunday to the New York Jets. Manning was removed from the game in the third quarter.) Moving forward Manning’s Colts will be the top seed in the AFC, and he will be in a great position in 2010 to pickup another Super Bowl ring. But his accomplishments in 2009 make him a top figure!

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Thats It! Now I'm going to bed! Wake me up in 2011!