Brother vs. Brother

Brother against Brother might just be the best competition (of anything) on the planet.

I mean, think about it....who do you want to beat the most in the world? Your brother of course.
(well....maybe your Dad or your son might fit in there too.....that is another Blog)

This Sunday Super Bowl XLVII is taking place in New Orleans. It has all the makings of a smash mouth, drag them out football game between the San Francisco 49ers coached by Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens coached by John Harbaugh.

That's right, Jim and John are brothers, playing as head coaches against each other in the Biggest Game Ever, The Super Bowl. Wow!! It does not get better than that.

John Harbaugh



Jim Harbaugh


The brother thing in sports has been around for a very long time.

• Peyton Manning vs Eli Manning - great quarterbacks, Peyton is a living football legend and yet Eli has won more Super Bowls. I guarantee that brings some interesting conversations at family get togethers.
• The Staal Brothers....4 hockey brothers that must of had a lot of battles on the ice growing up.
• The Sutter Boys - 6 boys all played in the NHL

                                                                             The Sutter Boys

 

Brothers start to "compete" at a very young age. It begins with the first time your older brother takes something that is yours....and you are not able to get it back. My theory is there are a lot of 2 year olds that are already pissed at their older brothers, but have not figured out just yet how to get even. My advice for all the 2 year olds that are reading this is...."be patient little man" you will get even.

 

My comeuppance of course was the famous story about my younger brother Steve putting his "Sunday going to meeting" shoes on....sorry....I mean shoe. He only put the one on and came downstairs and "punted" my head across the room. It was a shock....I was not expecting it...and ever since....it has been "GO TIME".

 

We competed at every level possible. Tennis ball hockey in the hallway of our home using the doors for nets....lacrosse.....5 long shots and 5 comer inners. Hockey on our rink....golf.....fishing.....and so on and so on. We compete. We love to compete. We love to beat the other guy...and we love to trash talk about it after. It is what we do. And I love it.

 

I can only imagine what is going through the minds of the Harbaugh boys this week. It must be crazy. How about the parents? Who do they cheer for?

 

I can tell you this from experience. After the game is over, the winning Harbaugh will likely say nice things about the losing Harbaugh. It will be sincere. It will be honest. But....mark my words, there will be a time....maybe in a week...maybe in 3 years.....and they might be sharing a beer....and a Harbaugh brother will say to the other..... I kicked your ass in the Super Bowl.

(and it will feel good)

 

 

They call him "Johnny Football"

 

Johnny Manziel (aka Johnny Football)

 

I am going to guess that a lot of you do not this athlete very well. I am not selling you short, it is just that a lot of people in Canada do not really watch NCAA College Football. I am not an avid fan, but I do enjoy watching the good games, and some Bowl games around this time of year. I have always been amazed on how popular College Football is in the U.S. 112,000 people pack into the Rose Bowl and Michigan University can squeeze 108,000 fans into their stadium....every single week.

 

Over the last number of years, I started to lose interest in watching the Bowl games, as more and more games were added every year and the teams getting into the Bowls, I feel were not deserving to be there. Also, sometimes there is a question mark as to what team should win the National Championship....it is an odd way to declare a champion.

 

However, something got my interest again this year, or should I say someone. His name is Johnny Manziel, although the fans at Texas A&M started to call him Johnny Football....and it stuck.

 

I am such a big fan of great athletes, athletes that excel...athletes that are a step above normal. This kid is one of those athletes. He has the "it" factor. He can pass, he can run...he scrambles and dodges and jumps and make plays out of nothing...over and over....game after game. It is not luck. It is athleticism, combined with heart, and an amazing "football brain".

 

To put it simply, he is a lot of fun to watch. Check out this video.

 



 

 

A couple of other quick points. Johnny Football is only a Freshman....he is just getting warmed up. He is also a nice guy, says the right thing....is not cocky when he scores, just a pleasure to see.

He was nominated for the coveted Heisman Trophy which is awarded annually to the Top NCAA Player in the Country. He won.

 

Have a look.

 

 

 

So what do you do after you win the Heisman Trophy? You wait over a month, and you play in the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M vs Oklahoma Sooners. Would he handle the pressure? I am going to say yes.

 

The Aggies from Texas won the game 41 - 13 in a blowout. Manziel tiptoed down the sideline for a 23-yard TD on the game’s opening drive and went on to an FBS bowl record for quarterbacks with 229 yards rushing on 17 carries. He also set a Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards. He was amazing to watch.

 

“Best player I’ve ever played. He does so many good things. He’s got magic,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. “He’ll have a chance to win four (Heismans) if he stays healthy.”

 

 

Johnny Football. Check him out next year.

 

 



A Great Sports Month

I have to say.....I am excited about sports right now.

For you NHL fans and Canadian World Junior Hockey fans that are heartbroken.....alas....hockey is not the only sport.

The NBA

First of all, can you say Toronto Raptors!!?? They are on on roll....winners of 8 out of their last 9 games...the Dino's are hot right now.....and what makes me happy is this:

Raptors are 12 wins and 20 losses right now.....impressive? - No. Not really I guess, but also remember that the Toronto squad is young, and has no superstars.

The powerful Superstar laden ego infused Los Angeles Lakers are at 15 wins.....only 3 ahead of the RAPS!! How can this be? Kobe, Steve Nash, Dwight (Superman) Howard, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace (for you non basketball fans....that is really his name.....like I said.....ego laden)

Raptors have Derozan, Calderon, Lowry, Johnston, Ross etc.......not really big names.

Why are these young guys on a roll right now? Simple. They have a great coach who is defence first and the players have bought in....and they are playing like a team. Rare in the NBA. It is always me first mentality in most of the NBA, as most players think of themselves first, the team second....some might argue with me on that....but it is true. The last true "team" in the NBA was the Dallas Mavericks that won the NBA title 2 years ago. They played as one....and it paid off.

I am going on Sunday to see the high flying OKC Thunder with KD and Westbrook playing our Raptors. I can't wait. It should be a track meet, run and gun, and I like our chances right now.

2012/2013 Raptors.....(just a hard working group of athletes)

 

 

The NFL Playoffs

 

I am more excited for the NFL playoffs this year than I can ever remember. So many exciting story lines, I don't even know where to start...but I will try.

 

 

1. Rookie Quarterbacks. - Impressive? -Huge Understatement.                                                   You have the first pick overall Playing for the Indianapolis Colts....Andrew Luck. An amazing year filling in for Peyton Manning....he led this team who were dead last, last year straight to the playoffs. How about Robert Griffin III for the Washington Redskins, this guy is excitement in a bottle...he can throw and run and brings a huge amount of confidence to his team. Lastly (but not least) how about Russel Wilson for the upstart Seattle Seahawks...fun to watch - a natural leader and also into the playoffs. Anything can happen with these young men at QB.
2. Speaking of Quarterbacks....Andrew Luck replaced an old has been, Peyton Manning....who had not 2, not 3, but 4 neck surgeries last year. He was released by Indianapolis and picked up by the Denver Broncos. How did he do?  He threw for 4,659 yards for 37 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. Denver ended up with 13 wins...winning their last 11 straight games and are the Number 1 seed in the AFC. Say no more. Amazing and fun to watch play the game.



Peyton Manning - What a season.

 

     3. Don't forget Tom Brady, New England QB and Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay QB, both these guys could be in the running for Best QB of all time.....studs for sure.. will be fun to watch.

 

 

 

BUT

 

 

 

we are forgetting someone.....they call him "The Beast"!

 

 

My loyal followers know that I have been a long time Minnesota Vikings fan...and long suffered from being a fan...disappointment after failure....Sigh. 4 Superbowl visits....0 wins. Not really things to brag about. However, this year has been a blast.

 

Adrian (the beast) Peterson came back from ACL surgery last November, everybody said he came back too early, and he proceeded to run roughshod over his opponents...around, over and through his defenders, he racked up the yards.

 

Stats - 348 carries for 2097 yards rushing...just 9 yards short of the NFL record set by the great Eric Dickerson. He had 12 rushing touchdowns and averaged 131 yards per game. Less than one year after surgery. He is my hero.

 

 

 



Adrian Peterson (I have a Man Crush)

 

 

Like I said off the top....some great sports to watch right now....so forget about hockey and settle in. I am going to be brave and predict some winners for this weekends Wild Card Games in the NFL. Here goes.

 

 

Game One - Cincinnati will beat Houston

 

Game Two - The Vikings will wear down Green Bay (you knew that was my pick)

 

Game Three - Baltimore will tough out a win over Indianapolis (sorry Andrew Luck)

 

Game Four - Great Game - Two Rookie QB's I pick Seattle to beat Washington.

 

There you have it.

 

Enjoy.