The fans are starting to pepper SU for a Super Bowl prediction. I have never been a fan of making score predictions but will take one for the team due to popular demand. A few considerations:
- Clearly the Pats have been there before. Experience matters and being able to handle the hype of Super Bowl week is a factor. Tom Brady knows how to make the adjustments and can thrive even in a year with a depleted receiver corps.
- This may be the Pats’ last hurrah. Several coaching coordinators will be leaving and the amount of noise going around regarding Kraft, Belichick and Brady has been constant.
- Nick Foles can play at a high level but no guarantee he will in this game. The Eagles were smart to get him going last game with a series of quick slants that got him in rhythm. You know the Patriots will take that away in this game.
- The game is indoors which should favor Brady.
SU will go with the Eagles. It’s time for change and just maybe the karma is with Philadelphia. Feels like it will be high scoring. SU says 31 – 24 Eagles.
Feel free to make your predictions. As always, SU will heap major praise on whomever is closest to the actual outcome and score.
Other thoughts for today:
- Trey Burke with a double-double last night in limited minutes (18 points and 11 assists). SU says just start him for the remainder of the season. Nothing to lose – team is going nowhere and if you continue to roll Jack out there and keep losing why not make the change? Ridiculous not to; Burke can provide a spark. Maybe you catch lightning?
- Federer in yet another Grand Slam final. But the men keep dropping due to injury – Nadal went down in the quarter finals with a hip injury. This is a big deal for the men’s game. Is it the absence of an off season? Hard courts? Long rallies where no one comes to net? Djokovic will surely need arm surgery – he is kidding himself that rest will cure it. Murray is out until June. But also a great opportunity for the next Gen guys to show themselves. The kid from South Korea, Chung, looks really good.
- Watch out for Purdue in the NCAAs. Michigan State gets all the attention but Purdue has a bunch of seniors and size. SU says they may be there in the end.
- We need pitchers and catchers to report now. Pretty incredible how many free agents are still out there. The owners are collectively looking to get under the revenue sharing cap and there have been few signings. SU is still terrified that the Yankees will bring back Todd Frazier.
- Barry Bonds and Clemens still only at 56-57% of Hall of Fame ballots. They only have 4 years left. SU would be fine keeping them out but suspects they both sneak in at the last minute. Do they belong?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Never Clemens or Bonds or Sosa or McGwire or Manny. They made their money, enjoy that–no immortality–except they will always be talked about like Joe Jackson and Peter Rose–so maybe bad immortality.
Today mist people know that Clemens cheated and most likely Bonds did as well. Who will care 20 or 30 years from now. When people see the stats and wonder why they are not in the H of F…then the reason for that will be explained. If they simply get in I don’t believe people will weigh how much th air cheating ways were a contributing factor. Having their name and Bust next to those who supposedly did not cheat is simply not right.
Eagles 31-30 with the Pats coming up just short at the end with a missed field goal from 54 yards.
Bonds and Clemens should be in the Hall. Both are better than Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman – and others (many of whom broke the rules and/or laws during their careers). Probably not next year, but the year after I could see them elected. I agree with Andrew that no one will care in 30 years, but if we elect them now at least we will no longer have to hear about it. Athletes are not perfect human beings. Let what they did on the field determine their Hall status.
I don’t think Edgar Martinez should be elected. He had a nice career and a career defining moment, but I feel he needed more clutch performances or possibly a key role on a championship team. And, I believe that they want to make Ortiz the first DH elected.
Regarding the Knicks, I thought they were supposed to be in first place after shedding Carmelo from the roster? I guess they did not realize that they still had inept coaching and average players.
Clemens and Bonds need to be in the Hall of Fame for the simple reason that voters don’t know who did what. Yes, they’re guilty. Going through the PED investigations we got distracted by the big names. But the really takeaway from the investigations was that PED use was commonplace. Maybe it still is. I have no idea. But, absent perfect knowledge of exactly who did what, the baseball writers have likely already enshrined PED users and will likely enshrine more. We will never know so the writers should vote based on what they saw on the field. The Hall of Fame needs to get this right. It is a problem if a generation that included Bonds, Sosa and Manny Ramirez is going to be represented in the Hall by Craig Biggio. This will make the Hall of Fame irrelevant and Vince MacMahon will have to open a competing venue where PED users are welcome (as long as they stand for the national anthem).
I caught the second half of the Knicks game last night. It was tough to watch. Burke had some exciting minutes but it didn’t seem to come from any flow in the offense. The lack of defense was incredible. This sport is supposed to be about finding easy shots for your team and making shots hard for the opponent. The Knicks seem to have this backwards. Hard to know what to look forward to.