Good enough for the HOF?

Kurt Warner loves Jesus and Jesus loves Kurt Warner. But will the HOF Committee love Kurt Warner enough to make him a member of the most prestigious fraternity a professional football player can join?
Anyone that has followed the game of football for the past 12 years knows Warner's almost improbable story. He went from bagging groceries and stocking shelves in a supermarket in his hometown in Iowa to being a 2-time NFL MVP, a Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP and also holds a couple NFL passing records, including faster player to 10,000 passing yards. If not for an injury to Trent Green (I know, shocking that Trent Green got hurt) Warner might not have played a snap in the 1999 season with the St. Louis Rams. All he did that season was lead the Rams to a 13-3 record, throw for over 4,300 yards, 41 touchdowns, won his first league MVP award, won the Super Bowl and was named its MVP... not too shabby.
There was talk that he might need to win another Super Bowl to get in; that his career numbers might not be enough to get him in. He ranks 26th all-time in TD passes (208) and passing yards (32,344), and he is 6th in passer rating (93.7%) and 2nd in passing yards/game (258.8) and completion percentage (65.5%).
But I think more telling of the type of player Warner was is reflected in his postseason numbers. In 13 postseason games he has thrown for 3,952 yards, 31 touchdowns with a passer rating of 102.8. He also owns the top 3 passing performances in Super Bowl history and broke his own NFL record of passing yards in the playoffs with 1,156 in 2008.
Simply put, Warner played his best in the biggest games of his career. He became the second quarterback to make Super Bowl starts with 2 different teams and the third quarterback in NFL history to win a conference championship with two different teams.
While he may not have the most gaudy career numbers he has made an impact on the game of football that cannot be ignored. Here's to hoping the Hall of Fame committee sees the light like Jake and Elwood did and votes Kurt Warner into the Hall of Fame.

What is said in January is not what is meant in August... or September...

Brett Favre answered the question that some people were asking as soon as Garrett Hartley's kick split the uprights in the Louisiana Superdome sending the Saints to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history and sending Favre and the Vikings home. He gave a statement so unequivocally convincing and more solid than the ground in Haiti (too soon?) that we HAVE to believe him.
Favre said he is "highly unlikely" to play next season.
There. Discussion over. So there's no need reason to talk about it ever again. The Vikings can move on and have either Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels hand the ball off to Adrian Peterson and beat the Bears twice next season.
And if you believe that then I have a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you and have also made a donation in your name to the Human Fund.
Unfortunately this Brett Favre saga is not going to end. He's going to flip flop more than Anne Heche and won't give us a final answer until more than halfway into preseason.
So, please allow me to look into the future and tell you what to expect next season. Ignore his initial comments because Brett Favre is going to return for his 20th NFL season.

Michael Vick should let sleeping dogs lie

Get your TiVos ready. Set a recording on your DVR. Hell, dust off your VCR and get ready to record because you're not going to want to miss this.
Starting February 2nd Michael Vick will be telling his story about the dogfighting ring that sent him to prison for 18 months. According to Vick, this 10-part series on BET titled "The Michael Vick Project" shows the real story of his life, from his rise to the top of the NFL to his arduous fall and his struggle to find redemption. The series is shot on the grounds in Surry County, VA where his dogfighting crimes were committed.
This might not be the best move for the former #1 overall pick. I can only assume that this series is meant to garner support and sympathy for Vick, showing how he is a changed man and that he wants to make amends for his past. Instead, the docu-series may do the exact opposite.
In the first episode he discusses how he ran "Bad Newz Kennels" while he was making the Pro Bowl and signing a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. He also talks about how he was exposed to dogfighting as a child and how quickly he became enamored with it.
In an interview with the AP he said that walking over the burial spots of some the dogs that were killed was the moment he "really realized all the wrong that I did". Now, I don't claim to be a smart man but I would think that thought would have sunk in at some point during his 18-months in prison. But that's just me.
Vick says that he believed money would buy him out of the legal trouble when he was charged in 2007 and says that he wanted to put an end to his ferociously expanding dogfighting stable but never found the courage to do so.
On top of awaking and inciting the bevy of ignorant fools in the U.S. that should just wear their sheets out in public, Vick is going to reopen the wound that is slowly closing. What he did will never be forgotten. He will never be forgiven by the masses for his heinus crimes against dogs. But if he is looking for a way to own up to his mistakes, to atone for what he did, then getting paid to do a 10-part television series is not the way to do it. The best thing for him to do is continue his work with the Humane Society of the United States; to keep giving speaches to school kids about the horrors of dogfighting; to become a model citizen and stay out of trouble. You were already given a second chance by being allowed to continue your football career. You were voted as the Eagles' recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.
There's one thing in life that's taken me a while to learn. Sometimes the more you try to explain yourself the worse things can get. Michael Vick is about to learn that lesson.

Sunday Funday... at least it should be

The Conference Championship games are this Sunday and what a treat they should be for football fans. The Saints will host the Vikings for the chance to represent the NFC in South Florida and the Colts will host the Jets for the AFC.
Here's my thoughts and predictions for this upcoming weekend...
The Saints offense looked as sharp as they have all season against the Cardinals. They had a great balance of run and pass and were in complete control of the game, even after Tim Hightower broke a 70 yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. Their defense bounced back nicely after that initial play causing turnovers and putting constant pressure on Kurt Warner. The offense then did its job scoring almost at will putting the game out of reach by halftime.
In order for the Vikings to have a chance they are going to have to lean on their running game and the monster known as Adrian Peterson. AD (stands for All Day, you should know this by now) has had a modest season by his standards. The Saints have a modest run defense. This could be a game, if given the chance, that he runs for 150+ yards with a couple scores (for my playoff fantasy team I hope he does). By controlling the clock and keeping the Saints offense off the field, Minnesota could come away with their biggest road victory of the season.
Now... while the Vikings are a much better defensive team than Arizona, I think Sean Payton will develop a great game plan and Brees will execute it perfectly. I also feel Brett Favre is going to come back to Earth a little bit after last week's 4 touchdown performance. Add to that what appears to be a healthy and determined Reggie Bush and the Saints will march right on down to South Florida for the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance.
I'm predicting Saints 30 Vikings 17...
The Jets remind me of the Cardinals last year. I kept dismissing them and they almost won the whole friggin thing. Unfortunately for the Jets, I don't see history repeating itself. While their defense is incredibly tough, Peyton Manning is not going to let Darrelle Revis stop him from going to the Super Bowl. Manning is the best QB in the game; best QB of his era and stacks up as one of the best to ever play the game; he's definitely on the Mount Rushmore of QBs. He will find ways to beat the Jets coverages and will find the holes in the different looks Revis and Co. will throw at him.
The only chance the Jets have is to force multiple turnovers and, much like the Vikings, control the clock with their running game, which happens to be one of the best in the league. This may be too big of a game for rookie Mark Sanchez to handle. He's shown great poise so far in the playoffs but will need his defense and special teams to keep them in the game. If he has to pass the Jets to victory, then it is going to be a very long day for him.
It should be a close game, but I'm going with the experience of Peyton Manning in this one; Colts 24 Jets 14.
That sets up a Saints/Colts Super Bowl; a battle of the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. Without going into great detail... I'll take the Saints to win it all.

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Dallas Cryboys

So Keith Brooking didn't like Brett Favre throwing a touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe when the game was out of hand. Poor baby. Hey Keith, I'm going to tell you something universally known throughout the sports world: If you don't like it, stop it. Saying the 11-yard scoring strike, Favre's 4th of the game, was classless and disrespectful is a gutless way of saying 'we gave up; we stopped playing and they should have too'.
Was the game out of reach? Yes. But instead of walking over to the Vikings sideline after the play and complaining about it in the post-game interview, use that play as a motivational tool. The Vikings have a killer instinct that is needed to win in the NFL. You have to continuously step on the throat of your opponent.
Now, I've never been someone that thinks a loss is a good thing for a team. Losing sucks; always has and always will. But if Dallas wants to get over the playoff hump and actually live up to their regular season hype, maybe they should look at the game film and learn how to not stop playing... regardless of the score.

Tim Tebow sacked at the Super Bowl...

Well, not literally. Tebow and his mother, Pam, have shot an ad for Focus on the Family that will air during the Super Bowl next month. Details have yet to be released but the commercial is likely to be an anti-abortion message telling the story of Pam's pregnancy with Tim. While pregnant with Tim, she became ill and was urged by her doctors to have an abortion. Pam refused and gave birth to a healthy baby.
Focus on the Family is a non-profit Christian organization that is not a church, but a very active political advocacy group that has been very up front with its stands against gay rights. The group is also against the passage of EDNA, a bill that would prohibit employment based on sexual orientation.
Tebow is known for his tremendous faith, even writing Bible verses on his eye black on game days. Being an outspoken Christian is fine, but doing a promotional ad for a group that vehemently opposes gay rights, an ad that is going to be aired during one of the most watched sporting events in the world could be costly for the future NFL quarterback.
There already is a lot of speculation as to when Tebow will be drafted this April. Being a spokesman for a group that is as controversial as Focus on the Family could negatively affect his pristine public image, his draft status and subsequently his financial health.
While I'm not a Tim Tebow fan, I'm not against him using his star power to spread his faith; Lord knows he's not the first or last person to do so. But he needs to take a step back and realize the effects of his decisions and be ready for the onslaught of criticism he is going to face.

Big Mac attacked

We didn't need a confession in 2010 to know Mark McGwire took steroids. We needed it during the Congressional Hearings. It was slick how he passed the blame off on his lawyers and the fact that he wouldn't get immunity for talking; that it was their idea for him to 'not talk about the past'. As you said Mac, the universe does work in mysterious ways. You finally decide to come clean after the statute of limitations is over, your HOF election chances dissipating and months after being named the hitting coach for the Cardinals... sorry Mark, coincidence is not on your side here. This was a calculated move to try and avoid an unlimited line of questioning in Spring Training directed towards you and the players on the Cardinals roster. It's inconceivable to think that your putrid efforts to fool anyone into believing that you are truly sorry for what you did will work. Because you chose to wait so long to admit your steroid use, you will always be remembered as a liar and cheater. You're not a martyr; you're not voice of reason. You're another casualty of the steroid era.
Normally, I applaud those who come out and admit to steroid use... at least they are man enough to own up to what they did. However, I cannot do that for McGwire. You had your chance to come clean and chose not to. You said you took them to help you get healthy; to get over your repeated injuries. But you refuse to say that taking steroids helped you hit as many home runs as you hit. If they didn't help you, then why did you call the Maris family and apologize? It's true, steroids do not help hand-eye coordination, as you repeated so adamantly. But they do make you stronger and quicker thus helping you hit the ball harder and farther. Translation: more homeruns.
The entire steroid era has left me feeling numb about the game that I love more than any other. The constant debate over which players did and didn't take steroids or PEDs... it's sad and unfortunate and the blame belongs to everyone involved, from Bud Selig (the worst thing to EVER happen to baseball) down to the owners and players and everyone in-between. Outside of confessions we will never know for certain who the users were. There will be a constant debate over whether this person or that person belongs in the Hall of Fame, an honor that has lost its luster over the past decade. There's no way to change the past; there isn't a rule that could be made to make the HOF selections easier. Placing an asterisk next to individual names and records won't solve anything. McGwire shed tears over his guilt and years of secrecy... it's unfortunate Major League Baseball cannot do the same.

You can't pin this one on Lovie or Jerry

As I was watching Cedric Benson run wild in the Bengals playoff loss to the J-E-T-S, I flashed back to his time with the Bears. During his brief time in Chicago Benson was selfish, unmotivated, out of shape and a problem from draft day until his departure. I'm sure a lot of Bears fans want to blame Jerry for drafting him and Lovie and his coaching staff for not handling him properly; for not coaching him the right way. They're probably looking at what Benson did this year with Cincinnati and are wondering why he didn't come close to that type of production with us.
The truth of the matter is Lovie and Co. did everything they could to get the most out of Benson. They coddled him, handed him the #1 running back position and traded away his predecessor Thomas Jones. Lovie and Jerry did everything he could to try to get the most out of Benson...
But it didn't matter what the Bears did; Benson was simply unmotivated and unwilling to put in the work to be a quality NFL running back. I mean, the man took himself out of the Super Bowl! If that isn't selfish and unmotivated then I don't know what is.
It's amazing what a change of location can do for a player. Look at him now. He's in the best shape of his life and looks like the monster he was in Texas. He finally realized what it takes to be a top tier NFL running back, which is what Cedric Benson has become.
So no, I don't blame Lovie for Benson's tumultuous time in Chicago. And I don't blame Jerry for drafting him. If Benson would have had his head on straight coming out of college the Bears wouldn't have had to trade Thomas Jones and would have had one of the best backfields in the league.
So... even though they missed horribly on a number of draft picks, and in my opinion should have been fired after this season, Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo are not to blame for Cedric Benson's failure in Chicago.

The Big Dumb Animal(s) of the Week

You know how this works. Every week I'm going to highlight the person, or persons in sports that does and says something extremely dumb. This week features 2 incredibly moronic athletes.
First up... Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley.
This genius believes that the Patriots, Bengals and any other AFC team that could help the Steelers get into the playoffs by winning this week will "lay down" because "no one wants to see Pittsburgh in (the playoffs)".
Yeah LaMarr, you're right. No one wants to see the team that lost to the Bears, Browns, Raiders and Chiefs (combined 18-42) in the playoffs. Maybe, LaMarr, if you and your teammates had done your job against some of the worst teams in the NFL then you wouldn't have to rely on the help of other teams that have already clinched a playoff spot.
There isn't some big conspiracy against the Steelers to keep them out of the playoffs. If the Patriots and Bengals choose to rest their starters this weekend and they lose because of it, then tough to you Pittsburgh Steelers.
So LaMarr Woodley, for saying teams are going to lay down this week to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs, you are one of Poljak's Sports Pie's "Big Dumb Animal of the Week."

But wait! There's more!!

Enter Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. What makes them so special? Just a little spat involving their guns, in their own freakin' locker room!
The story is reported as this... Arenas and Crittenton had a disagreement before practice, allegedly over a gambling debt, and the two pulled a gun on each other. Apparently Arenas is going to get the worst of this altercation. Now District of Columbia police are investigating the circumstances surrounding why he had 3 different guns in a locked box in his locker. He claims he brought them there to get them out of his house and away from his kids.
Hey Gilbert, how bout this? Buy a safe with that $111 million contact you signed 2 years ago and buy a frickin' safe and put the guns in there instead of bringing them to your work place. And yes, your locker room is your place of employment. I know if I brought a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate a gun rack (sorry, couldn't resist the movie quote) to my office, not only would I be fired, but I would probably be brought in by the boys in blue for a talking to.
So Gilbert Arenas and Jarvaris Crittenton, you dolts of a higher magnitude than most, congratulations on feeding the stereotype that all NBA players are thugs and social deviants. Hopefully David Stern will suspend your over-privileged behinds for at least this season and make you pay a stiffer fine that Artest did for going into the stands.
Without a doubt, you two are 2 of Poljak's Sports Pie's biggest "Big Dumb Animals of the Week".