Sports With Balls  

First, I'd like to welcome you (and me) back to the world of blogging. It's good to be back and as promised in my special New Year's edition of Sports with Balls, the blog will be a major part of 2008.

I'M AN NFL EXPERT (for one week anyway)
If Jacksonville hadn't blow an 18 point lead and only won by 2, I would have been a perfect 4-0 against the spread in my Wildcard Weekend NFL  picks. But I'll gladly take my 3-1 record, with how things have gone for me in recent weeks.
Regardless, my analysis and predictions for the games were actually dead on for a change. I'm not sure how excited we, as Giants fans, should get about Eli Manning just yet. What am I saying? We should throw a party. The guy won a playoff game! And the Giants didn't win despite him, he carried them on offense. No interceptions is remarkable enough, but converting some tough third downs in the first half was a key for the Giants. He gave them some breathing room while they took their precious time getting their running game going. Hats off to the defense, who didn't let Jeff Garcia look like Joe Montana, as he typically does look against the Giants. They essentially eliminated Joey Galloway, with some help from J Gal's bum shoulder. Another good performance on the road. So on to Dallas...bring on T.O. (well actually, please don't!), bring on Tony Romo, and pleeeeeeease bring on Jessica Simpson!

I had a feeling Ben Roethlisberger would struggle, but man oh man, did anyone see that performance coming? Kudos to Ben for leading the comeback, but he killed them in the first half. The Jags secondary came up with big plays and out long-haired Troy Polomalu and the Steelers' DBs. David Garrard is better than I thought.

I didn't see much of the other two games unfortunately. For those who did, how did the Seahawks blow that 13-0 lead so quickly? And even more importantly, how did they end up with 35 points??? I think they'll take the Todd Collins Kool-Aid off the market now, because we're all done drinking it. He did a nice job getting the Skins to the playoffs, but I still wouldn't say he's as mmm-mmm good as Jason Campbell. I told you all that the Seahawks weren't getting enough credit. Matt Hasselbeck wants the ball and he's gonna score; watch out Green Bay!

I didn't see any of the of Chargers game because I was driving back to Philly at the time. Sounds like I missed a barn burner. Again, I was on the money when I said the Titans wouldn't be able to score enough. But does anyone think Norv Turner will be able to pull off the upset next week? Not me.


LOOSE BALLS
Roger Clemens is angry, Brian McNamee is falling apart. All those years living in New York, I could have publicly broadcasted my phone conversations. What does this all mean? Who knows?  In that conversation, McNamee said, in some form, "what do you want me to do?" 21 times, yet Clemens didn't give him answer. Clemens said, "like I said", about 50 times, yet what did he really say?
This will sound boring, but I don't know who to believe. It's a classic he said, she said deal and I don't know whether to believe Mr. McNamee or Ms. Clemens on this one. Even if this involved two close friends of mine, I don't have enough to go by to make a solid conclusion. I know Clemens only by what he's done on the mound. I know less of McNamee. If I had to give a definitive answer, I'd say Clemens is lying, but fortunately none of Mitchell's guys have contacted me yet.
Another Yankee note of a different nature...it's time for Goose Gossage to get into the Hall of Fame. Gossage had just as good a career, if not better, than Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter. He was a pioneer of the closer role and was dominant during his time in that role, mainly for the Yankees.
I'm not sure if any other candidates are a lock. Tim Raines deserves to be part of the debate, with a combo of speed, average and even some power. Playing in Montreal put him under the radar. He probably won't get in, but he and Andre Dawson deserve consideration.

NEXT UP ON SPORTS WITH BALLS
Tune in right here to my next show on Thursday, January 10th at 2 p.m. Clemens, NFL playoffs, and much much more.