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.