Football withdrawal

Hands shaking. Jittery. A loss of color. That's how I feel today, a perfectly nice, but crisp Sunday afternoon. Why all the effects? Likely because every single week at this time, since late summer, I have been firmly planted on the couch watching whatever football was offered through the local stations. Hey - NFL football is NFL football. Even here, in the land of the 0-16 Detroit Lions. In any case, for those that dwell on football nostalgia, they used to play the Superbowl the week after the NFC and AFC championship games. In that light, today would be the silver anniversary of the 1984 Superbowl ad that has become iconic. Caroline McCarthy over at CNET has a roundup of the ad here. Here's the ad in full:

Now I have to admit that I was not the football fan in my youth that I am now, and hardly remember the drubbing that the Redskins were given by the Raiders (yeah - THOSE Raiders from the long gone glory days). Nor do I remember the ad as a mac ad. Just the whole 'big brother' imagery, which has been used by others in the distant, and more recent, past. For instance, this Obama ad ran before the Democratic primary (and was pulled shortly thereafter):

In local (and national) news from the Freep

Also known to many of us here in MI as the 'Ivory Tower,' where average liberal writers try their darndest to form public opinion rather than just report the news. Evrery. Single. Day. Without further ado, here are headlines from the Freep this morning:

Detroit students might not see history. They would see history if the DPS would teach them how to read, write and do math. Wouldn't THAT be something to witness?!?!

King's struggles, Obama's ascent fill sermons. "You can kill the dreamer, but another one will rise in his place..." And you can kill an unborn child, but... ...oh never mind. When did the party that opposed civil rights and fought to keep segregation in place as well as slavery (democrats) get front-and-center at pulpits? It's also ironic that they mention MLK Jr., who once said "Judge People by Their Character, Not Skin Color." Isn't Barack Obama, and the democrat party in whole, opposed to this since they support affirmative action which judges people based on color and not by their character?

Parents check out cars of their kids' dreams. I hate to break it to the writer, but the cars of kids dreams are not typically VW beetles. They are big. And fast. And if they had their druthers, they would fly to other planets. Instantly!

If the once lowly Cardinals can rise up from despair, why can't the Lions? I wrote about this yesterday, but I've got a 2-word answer for 'em. Kurt. Warner.

How the Lions went 0-16. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then the freep just said 48,000 of them that we do not need to hear. Do we need any more reminders? Can we just enjoy the SuperBowl? Please?

Do the safe thing and hang up. They really need to change the 'hang up' thing. Does anyone 'hang up' a cellphone? Aren't home phones mostly wireless now anyway? And while we're on the topic of talking on a cellphone while driving, how is talking on a handsfree cell call different than talking to a buddy next to you? Maybe this is Michigan's way to get us out of deficit spending. Heavy fines for everyone (they wouldn't ticket us just to raise revenue, would they?)! Woohoo! And while we're at it, we're going to outright ban talking of any kind while driving. Even to yourself. Mouth moves, you get a ticket. Would this be a "zip-it or ticket" campaign?

Biden’s role straddling foreign policy, domestic issues. I think his real role will be straddling a chair in an undisclosed location with duct tape over his big mouth. For the next 4 years.

Obama Hustlers head to D.C. Hmmm. I didn't think the'd mention ACORN. (hint: they didn't!)

Lawyer deficits taxing courts in Macomb County. The operative sentence: "The underlying cause of the problem is a familiar story: budget woes." Maybe they can learn from their neighbor?

Michigan man to help Iraqis plan local government. How would that convo go? To the Iraquis: "Spend more money than you have. Raise taxes. Rinse. Repeat. Be like us in Michigan."

Hundreds bid Stooges guitarist farewell. Which one played a guitar? Larry, Curly, Moe?

Arizona 32, Philadelphia 25

Via ESPN. What an exciting game! I didn't expect it to be so close in the 2nd half. Even in the 3rd quarter, it didn't look like Philly would fight it's way back initially. But then the Cards made the same mistake many teams have made in the past versus McNabb. They didn't blitz him on 3rd and 19 to go. He threw for a first down and they ended up scoring a TD on the drive. Remember some years ago when the Packers failed to blitz McNabb on 4th and 26 that would have ended the game? Yeah, I had the same feeling here, except that the Eagles didn't win this time around.

Kurt Warner sealed his induction into the Hall of Fame with that final TD drive that sealed the NFC Championship for the Cardinals (their first). Speaking of Kurt, who threw for 4 TD today, he has to be considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He went to the Rams, who were just like the Lions have been for some time, and wins a SuperBowl, simultaneously turning the perpetual cellar-dweller Rams into contenders. He didn't have a good offensive line or a good defense (other great QBs in the past had at least one of those, if not both - Joe Montana, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, John Elway, etc.).

So Kurt goes to the Arizona Cardinals, who have never been in an NFC Championship game much less a SuperBowl. The Cards, before Warner, were, like the Rams, perpetual cellar dwellers. So I hear the halftime show and Howie Long seems to indicate that the reason the Cards are good now is because of some statistically-unlikely conglomeration of coaches, assistants, and receivers. "Is he for real?" I though. Seemed pretty serious when he said it. He even went on to say that such an unlikely event happened before in St. Louis! He never even mentioned Kurt Warner! Talk about not getting any respect!

In any case, Kurt Warner going to Arizona and taking the Cardinals to the SuperBowl is equivalent to Kurt Warner coming into Detroit and taking the Lions there. That ought to about do it for his induction into the Hall.

Other than his football prowess, Kurt spends more time on charitable work than most athletes. It's a matter of faith to him, even though the MSM tries it's best to suppress and censor this aspect of Kurt. God bless you, Kurt! And kick some butt in two weeks (and make the media get a close-up on you when you thank Jesus once again).

Oh brother - here we go again

From the freep: Lions roll dice again with untested coach. "Can Schwartz win after 0-16?"

Aren't the odds pretty good that they can win just one game with incompetence all around? Can we fire the Fords? Somehow?

Colts introduce new coach Caldwell

An article from ESPN: "INDIANAPOLIS -- Jim Caldwell wants the Indianapolis Colts to be his team. Even with most, if not all, of Tony Dungy's guys."

I don't think the Colts were ever Tony Dungy's team. They've been Peyton Manning's and will continue to be so into the foreseeable future.

That being said, I have great respect for Tony Dungy. He's been one of the best coaches in the NFL during his tenure. It's because of Tony that the Bucks are still a contender. You remember the Bucks before Tony, don't you? Perennial losers. Kind of like the Lions right now. Speaking of - can Ford get Tony up in Detroit? Pretty please with sugar on it?

Cardinals have last laugh on the Lions

From the Ivory Tower:

http://www.freep.com/article/20090112/COL08/901120330/Cards+have+last+laugh+on+Lions

Somehow, I don't think the Cards have a single thought about the Lions, but I understand the point. The Cards were an exercise in frustration. So what changed? One guy - Kurt Warner. The same Kurt Warner that turned around another exercise in frustration - the St. Louis Rams. Anyone remember 1999?