Running Down a Dream

I was driving around town today, and Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” came on the radio.

Nostalgia slapped me in the face.

February 3, 2008 — the day the New England Patriots fell 17-14 to the New York Giants. Tom Petty performed “Running Down a Dream” and “Free Fallin” during the halftime show, and both songs seemed to have set the tone for the game.

That Super Bowl is one of my favorites of all-time. It occurred six years to the day the Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. Super Bowl XLII had everything you could want in a Super Bowl: defense, a little bit of offense, incredible drama and some solid hits. That Super Bowl also happened in 2008, possibly the best year (along with 2009) of my life up to this point.

Here’s the post I wrote IMMEDIATELY after the game: Click here.

I wish I had a time machine. I can’t believe it has nearly been four years since that day. Wow.

The Cardinals win the World Series

How in the hell did they get there?

At the beginning of the year, injuries consumed the St. Louis Cardinals. The media delivered an absolute shit storm of spew about Albert Pujols and where he’d be heading following this season. This Cardinals team is a lot like the NFL’s Green Bay Packers from their Super Bowl run last year.

They looked finished during the early goings of September.

They were finished in game 6 of the World Series, when David Freese (0-3 up to that point) came up to bat. Two outs and one strike away from losing the World Series to the Texas Rangers — who were in their second World Series in a row — Freese saved the Cardinals. Then he did it again in the 11th inning with a solo home run that gave the World Series an automatic game 7 (its first since 2002).

Boom, shocka, locka.

Forget the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies or any other kind of overly heralded teams that garner way too much attention from the baseball media. The St. Louis Cardinals are back on top.

Everybody said the Phillies would beat the Cardinals. They didn’t. Everybody said the Brewers would beat the Cardinals. They didn’t. Many people said the Rangers would beat the Cardinals. Ahem… I think you see a pattern here.

I’m not sure how this World Series stacks up to 2006. That World Series was really special, with Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds on the team. This year, though, is a shocker, because back in 2006, although the Cardinals only won 82 games that year they had won 105 in 2004 and 100 in 2005, so they were fairly dominant whenever they were spoken of. 2011? All that was heard about was how the Phillies were going to run the table and make every other ball club their respective, er, ‘bitch’.

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, your World Series champions.

That’s Game! That’s Game! That’s Game!

In arguably the greatest (or most bizarre) World Series game of all time, David Freese (0-3 at the time), with one strike away from walking back to the dugout while the opposing team (the Texas Rangers) celebrates their first World Series title, hit a deep shot that knocked in Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman. In extra innings, he hit a solo jack that gave the Cardinals the win and forced a game 7.

That’s game, that’s game, that’s game.

Tonight is game 7.

A Slap in the Face From the World Series

“How did we get here?”, the St. Louis Cardinals ask.

It’s absolutely amazing that the Cardinals are actually in the World Series, let alone going into the top of the ninth inning of game two up 1-0 against the Texas Rangers in the game while also being up 1-0 in the series.

Jason Motte.

Jason Motte…
That hurt a hell of a whole lot
Blowing that lead turned my stomach into a knot
Are the Cards’ World Series chances going to rot?

Allen Craig had won the Cards the game
Losing 2-1 is just a shame
Now Saturday, the Series is headed to Texas as the Rangers flame
Might as well watch USC play Notre Dame

Enjoy my impromptu nursery rhyme esque poem?

Two games… two games. They have been excellent. A lot of pundits are saying the Series will go seven. I can see that. The two games already played have been low scoring, but with the Series shifting to Texas, I can imagine the scoring augmenting.

It’s a shame that Jaime Garcia pitched possibly the game of his life… only to watch his team falter in the ninth inning. It happens, though. That’s baseball.

As a Cardinals fan today, I can’t help but feel dread. Saturday, Sunday and Monday… we’ll see what happens.

Coaches in Turmoil: Jim Harbaugh vs. Jim Schwartz

Was Jim Harbaugh in the wrong yesterday, when he overzealously shook Lions coach Jim Schwartz’s hand and then aggressively shoved him in the back?

I don’t think so.

First and foremost, I’m a St. Louis Rams fan (as made obvious by the sports banner of four years above) and I despise the San Francisco 49ers. However, I never let my hate get in my way of what I think, and I think Harbaugh is in the right and Schwartz is in the wrong.

Compete, compete, compete. Win or lose… just compete and play to win the game.

Yesterday I wrote about AJ Hawk and his middle finger being plastered all over Yahoo! Sports. Today, I’m writing about the coach of the 5-1 49ers and their win over Jim Schwartz and the previously undefeated Detroit Lions.

Schwartz is crying over spilled milk. He antagonized Harbaugh during the game with his “know the rules!” jab. He also used profanity during the handshake at the end of the game.

Harbaugh is a fist pump, chest bump type of coach. He rah-rahs and stimulates the competitive ‘muscles’ of his Niners. Schwartz is the same kind of coach for the Lions, and if you heard all the things he said when he was mic’ed up on the sidelines when the Lions played the Dallas Cowboys, you would wholeheartedly agree.

Was Harbaugh over the top? Sure, but it happens. It’s not a mere excuse, but rather a reason. Nowadays, so many coaches in the NFL are bland and boring, lacking any semblance of scintillating panache or charisma. You may ask, “Why do they need to have any personality? They are grown men, head coaches and they are just doing their jobs.” Well, I’m an observer… a viewer of sports, just like those of you reading, and I enjoy being entertained rather than being lulled to sleep.

Two babies masquerading as adults? Sure, but have you ever been in their shoes? Are you an NFL coach who just moved on up to a 5-1 record after defeating a previously undefeated team? Have you ever accomplished such a feat? No? Then why are you and the rest of the people in the sports media world ragging on somebody when you have never been in their position? You would do things differently, huh? Yeah, you ‘would’, but I would also be a billionaire.
My bottom line: Schwartz essentially called Harbaugh a ‘dumbass’ over the call to review the touchdown play. If you watch the replay after the game, Harbaugh approaches Schwartz, shakes his hand and slaps him on the back while he is still moving. It is Schwartz that clearly said, “What the fuck?!” to which Harbaugh replied with the exact same words.

Harbaugh continues to move away, and Schwartz chases Harbaugh. Both coaches are EXTREMELY competitive and were very wound up from the close game. Harbaugh looked like he was going to puke or have a heart attack in the last minute or so of the game. Lifting his shirt was his reaction after his team won.

This is why the NFL is so entertaining. Entertaining characters like Harbaugh and Schwartz make for great television, especially considering the drama that is professional football.

AJ Hawk and Flipping the Bird

After Green Bay Packers’ linebacker AJ Hawk sacked St. Louis Rams’ quarterback Sam Bradford, he extended his arm and gave the sky a middle finger.

People are raging, calling him a goofball, a classless and insolent jerk, a realistic depiction of today’s American athletes compared to the athletes of old…

All of this crap.

Testosterone is one hell of a funny hormone. Today’s sports games practically have five billion cameras on every athlete on the field or court. Every time an athlete moves, picks his nose, adjusts his crotch, does jumping jacks, laughs at a joke, frowns, grimaces, etc., that athlete will be on camera and somebody, somewhere will have the nerve to sit down and complain about it.

Well, I’m complaining, but not about Hawk and his middle finger — I’m complaining about the massive overreaction on Yahoo! Sports. I don’t expect anything more from that site, considering some of the news that their columnists post,  but it’s time to stop insulting athletes when they are acting in the heat of the battle. It’s called an impulsive reaction. Now, some people can control themselves better than others — that’s a given.

Someone once said that a person’s true character shines when in the heat of a battle, but I think that’s a bit overblown. I think a person’s true character actually shines when money is involved (let’s be honest — money is the best truth serum, and if you take two people and put money between them, only then will you see the two people’s true attitudes and character).

But I digress.

There are simply too many ‘journalists’ writing about nothing! Athletes are testosterone fueled freaks (and I mean that in a good way, for sure)! They will be brash, callous, and yes, even tactless when competing! They don’t need to be diplomatic! I read where the R&B singer Usher ripped his pants on stage. So what?! He’s a singer. He sang his show! All was well! Celebrity weddings! Thousands of dollars spent! Enough to buy two or three houses for a Hollywood wedding that might make four years.

I can’t believe we are so worried about a middle finger.

The 2011 St. Louis Rams: Droppin’ the Ball

I love the St. Louis Rams. I really do. But the porous effort being delivered when playing a game of football has to stop somewhere. Last year, I thought the improvement would carry over, but just as I thought in 2006-2007, I was wrong.

Now, they are 0-4, and they play in the NFC West, so all is not lost considering that nobody in that division is going to run away with the division crown, but progress needs to be made.

It’s not that they are losing — it’s how they are losing. Costly mistakes. I feel bad for Sam Bradford for having to play with a bunch of lazy, ungrateful, real pieces of work on offense that can’t defend him or catch a football, something they are paid millions and millions of dollars to do. I haven’t seen a team drop as many passes like the 2011 Rams have since the 2004 Seattle Seahawks. The Rams’ defense plays about as hard as you’d expect for a defense that is almost constantly out on the field, so I’m not going to slay them with vitriolic words, but the offense is an atrocious model of porous football. It’s sad that, ten years ago at this time, the Rams wielded the greatest offense in NFL history, and now, ten years later, the offense is merely a peewee football team playing against a bunch of snarky pro ballers.

The Rams have the Packers, Cowboys and Saints next, respectively, all in that order after their week five bye week. They will manage to make all three teams look like a collective, monumental group of superheroes… The Avengers?

I’m still a firm, firm, firm believer in Steve Spagnuolo. I know that not all is lost, being in the NFC West, but something needs to be done. It’s time to catch some footballs and do something with ‘em, especially when defenses are giving you free shots to accelerate your game to another level. Maybe there’s something in the air in St. Louis?

To Lambeau Field and Cowboys Stadium the next two weeks following the week five bye. I dread it. I dread it. I dread it. I dread it. I dread it.

Oh, and the Cardinals (the baseball ones) are down 1-0 in their NLDS series against the vaunted Phillies. Game two is in a couple of hours. Cross your fingers, Cards fans.

Catching Hell

ESPN ran its 2-hour documentary “Catching Hell” as a part of its 30 for 30 series earlier tonight. The documentary focuses on Steve Bartman and his involvement in game six of the 2003 NLCS between the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs.

Bartman, along with about four or five other fans, reached their hands out along the railing as Cubs’ fielder Moises Alou chased down a flying foul ball. Out of all the fans, his hands were the one to make the most ‘prominent’ contact with the ball.

As Alou failed to snatch the ball from the crowd, he removed his glove and threw it on the ground in frustration, shouting expletives.

Long story short… the Cubs went on to lose game 6 and consequently game 7 to the Marlins.

Bartman was escorted out of Wrigley that night. He was cussed at, had beer and pizza thrown at him and had to turn into a reclusive hermit because of his automatic assumption of the role of a scapegoat. He even received death threats, one of the threats being “put a 12 gauge shotgun in your mouth and pull the trigger!”

Bartman wasn’t the reason the Cubs failed to advance to the World Series. Alex Gonzalez’s fielding error was, the Florida Marlins’ ensuing bevy of hits was…

I don’t know too many Cubs fans, but the ones I do know are rational and understand that Bartman isn’t to blame.

Cubs fans shouldn’t be called ‘classless’ or ‘pigs’ for their treatment of Bartman that night. Picture that happening in any other stadium with a game of that magnitude — that fan would receive similar treatment in the moment.

In the moment.

The Beaten, Battered Rams

On Monday morning, Steve Spagnuolo checked out his Rams’ injury report and subsequently told the good ol’ media that it was the worst he’s seen in his three years with the Rams.

Quarterback Sam Bradford has a bruised right index finger, but he’s expected to play next Monday night against the Giants. Steven Jackson, on the other hand, is going to miss the Monday night football spectacular because of a strained right quadriceps. Think that’s bad? The Rams’ best cornerback, Ron Bartell, is likely out for the season with two fractures in his neck.

The Rams’ top receiver from last season? Danny Amendola… out indefinitely with a dislocated left elbow.

I’m not going to write about the game. You already know the score — the Eagles whipped the collective tails of the Rams. An emotional start that saw the Rams’ defense make a big stand, and the offense put together a 40+ yard Steven Jackson run for a touchdown on the Rams’ very first play, the lead was permanently taken away a couple of series later when Bradford lost control of the football and the Eagles took it back to the house.

The first half of the Rams’ season doesn’t get any easier for the team. They still face the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.

Brace yourself, fellas.

Troy’s Thoughts on Rams-Titans

The feed I watched wasn’t great so I’m not going to be as detailed this time around, but here are some thoughts on the Rams’ pre-season win over the Titans:

– The first team offense was stagnant aside from the opening play. Sam Bradford had to love the sight of Brandon Gibson streaking wide open down the middle of the field. 83-yard pass plays don’t get much better than that. Unfortunately, the rest of the game wasn’t as easy. Protection broke down, and no one made adjustments to blitzing defenders. Sam’s sole interception was tipped at the line before it reached Mikes Sims-Walker, suggesting there may not have been a clear throwing window. Feeley had an impressive touchdown pass to Donnie Avery but was rather quiet the rest of the night. Thaddeus Lewis played the hero by showing good poise and mobility leading the offense at the end of the game.

– Steven Jackson made his debut, and didn’t really show much. Some tough running with little room to go, but there was a clear difference in urgency when Cadillac Williams entered the game. Caddy definitely hit the holes with more downfield quickness. Neither Norwood nor Toston did much — there just wasn’t much room to run. Even on screen passes, the blocking was not well developed enough to take advantage. Blitz pick-up looked like an issue for the whole running back unit.

– It was nice to see some other Rams receivers get involved, even though it may only be in baby steps. Gibson and Danny Amendola remained the two top targets. Mike Sims-Walker had an up and down night. A nice catch on an intermediate in route, but otherwise not much positive for him. Austin Pettis did very little in the passing game. Near the end of the game, Greg Salas made a boneheaded drop on a perfect pass by Lewis, but then came back to make some nice grabs. Lance Kendricks was quiet tonight. Mardy Gilyard showed some nice elusiveness on special teams and on a late-game crossing route. He’s trying to make this team any way he can. Danario Alexander had a solid catch and run on a quick hit adjustment route, but did nothing else. Donnie Avery had a nice body catch on his touchdown reception, and had a nice WR screen that was called back due to penalty. Slowly some guys are getting involved, but the first team offense still leaned heavily on Gibson/Amendola.

– The offensive line, simply put, did not have a good night. Pass protection started off strong, but deteriorated quickly. Sam took a beating and limped off the field at one point, though he looked to be okay. The holes in the running game were just not there, and you can’t blame it all on Jacob Bell not being in the game. The Titans were not as easy to push around as the Colts, and the Rams struggled all night to control the line of scrimmage. Hank Fraley looked lost at left guard, but the Rams weren’t able to put Adam Goldberg there due to him being needed elsewhere on the line. Renardo Foster was called for a personal foul penalty that negated DX’s catch and run.

– The defensive line seemed intent on matching the offensive line’s ineffectiveness. Tennessee had their way with all units of the defensive line, pushing them around, establishing a new line of scrimmage, creating big holes in the running game. There was little to no pressure on Matt Hasselbeck from the defensive line; the Rams’ only sack of the game came on an early James Laurinaitis blitz. So, this unit has a lot of film to watch after tonight. Robert Quinn, George Selvie, and Darell Scott had some solid plays later in the game, but nothing to drastically change the tone of the night for this crew, which was rather negative.

– With the DL getting pushed around, you would have liked to see the linebackers step up and fill the holes, preventing big gains. Well, that didn’t happen. James Laurinaitis looked pretty solid tonight, and Kehl had some good moments early, but the rest of the crew was rather spotty at best. The Titans gashed the Rams consistently with cutback runs on slant plays, and the Rams had little to no consistent backside containment. There are a lot of new bodies here, but none are really standing out. If anything, Poppinga is hustling so there’s that. Diles had a nice hit late in the game. To be continued on this unit, as there’s still some work to do.

– The defensive backs, what can you say. Hasselbeck was 7 for 9 before leaving the game, so he wasn’t having much trouble completing passes. The Rams struggled to cover the tight end tonight. There weren’t many positives that stood out. The defense tightened up once Tennessee got into the red zone, but the defensive backfield shared the front seven’s inconsistency. Quintin Mikell, Justin King, and Darian Stewart all whiffed on notable open field tackle opportunities. King later had some solid moments in run support, but he makes me nervous as a third corner. Dinkins was inconsistent as well. Jonathan Nelson had a few stand out moments towards the end and may earn himself a spot.

– Not much to say about the kicking game. The Rams’ special teams were solid all night long. Donnie Jones punted the ball well, the Rams covered fairly well, and the return game showed some flashes. Mardy Gilyard had some nice moments both in coverage and on returns. Josh Brown was Mr. Dependable on the game-winning field goal, even after being iced (preseason!).

If we’ve learned one thing, it’s probably that installing a new offense with limited offseason practices is going to take some time. They’re not always going to come as easy as Gibson being wide open by 20-yards in all directions. The Rams still looked hesitant to challenge the intermediate part of the field. They need to continue to work on their screen game, as those plays largely failed every time they were drawn up. The lines were challenged more tonight than against the Colts, and didn’t really come through. The run defense tonight was concerning to say the least.

But the Rams squeaked out a win because 1.) Their red zone defense kept forcing Tennessee to kick field goals and 2.) Thaddeus Lewis marched the third stringers down the field in order to secure a winning field goal. This wasn’t the shellacking performance so many were excited about last week, but the feedback from this contest may be more valuable in helping the Rams prepare for the regular season, and that’s what matters.