Random thoughts from a cluttered mind...
JAGUARS To me, its amazing how much different people feel after a Jaguars victory, as opposed to a Jaguars loss.
When the Jags win, total euphoria and happiness reigns. The team is great, the players are great, the coach and QB are the best, and the team is going all the way. After a loss, though, we hear that everyone should be fired and the team should start from scratch. And people, I’m NOT joking!
Should I now state that people are simply overreacting? I think fans need to become a little more tolerant of the situation and look at the ‘big picture’ with a lot more focus. There’s no need to call out the entire franchise after a loss. Meanwhile, it is indeed nice to see people celebrating after a win, but we don’t need parades!
So now, Jacksonville travels to Nashville to take on Jeff Fisher and those evil Titans. When Tennessee came here earlier in the season, Jacksonville laid a 37-7 bludgeoning on them. The Titans will certainly have that in the back of their minds when they come out to play. Factor in Tennessee having won their last four games, and we know that this could be a very dangerous opponent for the Jags. It will certainly be a challenging contest. We shall see what happens.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE There are certainly some interesting contests this weekend, and many of them have playoff implications, without question.
In the NFC East, the Cowboys surprisingly only have a one-game lead on the Giants and Eagles. Dallas will face a tough Falcon squad on Saturday evening, while Philadelphia and New York will tangle on Sunday in the Meadowlands. That should be an interesting match up. The struggling Carolina Panthers will host the Steelers, who have assumed the role of the underdog, now that they are out of the playoff hunt. Carolina has lost more games this season because of their defensive play, which is odd, considering the coaching background of head coach John Fox.
In the AFC, the Jets, Chiefs, and Broncos all lost last week, while the Bengals won to keep pace with the Jags. Cincinnati now goes to Indy to face a Colts team that is strongly looking for a victory. The Chiefs will have a hard time in San Diego, while the Broncos mustn’t overlook a Cardinal squad that beat Seattle last week. This all will make for another unpredictable weekend, as we all have seen so far, in the National Football League.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION As of Wednesday, Allen Iverson was still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. You can make all the observations you wish on this situation. Some believe there aren’t many teams that can handle his exorbitant salary. Also, there are only a few teams in which Iverson is willing and interested in playing for. I think a lot of this should’ve been taken care of before it was all announced. Iverson should’ve realized the limited number of options in line for his services. Now, if this deal drags on for another week or so, we’re gonna hear how nobody wants Allen Iverson. Would he be able to go back and play for the Sixers again? I think not.
Earlier this week, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the league decided to go back to using a leather basketball for games, as opposed to the new microfiber ball made by Spalding. To me, this has been a crazy deal from the beginning. Were the leather balls becoming outdated? Its not like players were complaining about the leather balls before. Also, players weren’t given a chance to test the new products to see if they were worthy of professional play.
When the season began, a number of guys hated the newer balls because they weren’t bouncing the same as the leather ones. They were also receiving numerous cuts and abrasions to their hands and fingers. So now, the NBA is reluctantly retreating in their push to come out with promoting this new product. And it’s funny how we aren’t hearing any fans complaining whatsoever.
Tom Weppel talks trash on Thursdays from 7-8 p.m. on WIOJ-AM 1010, and on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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