Last Sunday, football fanatics watched the NFL’s final four produce two great grid-iron battles. Super Bowl representatives were determined by offense in the NFC and defense decided the AFC. While high-quality football captivated the nation, Saints fans second-lined around town celebrating Gregg Williams’ arrival. In this week’s edition of Saints Beat, Big Daddy covers the presidential inauguration, bashes NFL officiating, recaps the AFC Championship game, provides a 10-game Hornets update, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information.
Despite eight years of deceit and an illegal war destroying the United States’ world image, over 2 billion viewers anxiously awaited the transfer of power from George W. Bush to Barack H. Obama. January 20, 2009 proved that American ideals will always prevail in legitimate elections. Did anyone spot Mayor C. Ray Nagin in the crowd? Maybe listening Barak’s beautiful oratory skills will teach C. Ray to edit divisive comments out of his future speeches? Flawless performances by Aretha Franklin, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma in bitterly cold conditions prepared the huge audience for the peaceful transition. However, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. sounded like Bush crucifying the English language one last time when he botched the ceremony. The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery’s closing benediction evoked a message of inclusion, dreaming of a place where black isn’t held back, brown sticks around, yellow remains mellow, red gets ahead, and white embraces what’s right. Figuring a Muslim like Obama wouldn't need the “Good Book,” the Bush Administration's outgoing gag commandeered every White House copy, forcing Roberts to re-administer the constitution's presidential oath to Obama in a Bible-less White House.
Remember how Pittsburgh’s tainted Super Bowl XL triumph over Seattle compelled Coach Bill Cowher to retire? Saints Beat cited countless inaccurate ball spots by line judges either ending possessions prematurely or keeping unwarranted scoring drives alive. Egregious zebra mistakes so far in the ’09 playoffs make football junkies feel violated. Horrible one-sided calls by refs raise questions of NFL legitimacy. False apologies in press conferences after the fact does less to correct the past than confessing your sins to a priest. Why doesn’t Commissioner Roger Goodell demand perfection? Using the tired human error excuse to protect referees sucks more than Dick Cheney’s quail hunting techniques and really chaps Big Daddy’s ass. Could the networks, Las Vegas, and the league be utilizing refs to guarantee the proper outcome in each game to maximize the bottom line? Oh no! Say it ain’t so! Hey Roger, football can handle the truth! Let the players settle matters on the field instead of corporate fatheads in board rooms or shady dudes from Vegas sports books.
Recapping the AFC title game, Jeff Reed two field goals to put Pittsburgh ahead 6-0 after one. Santonio Holmes turned Ben Roethlisberger’s ugly desperation throw into an improbable 65-yard touchdown reception. Trailing 13-0, Willis McGahee barreled in from 3 yards out as Baltimore settled for a 13-7 halftime deficit. After Reed’s 46-yard 3-pointer, Pitt led 16-7 going to the fourth. The Ravens closed the gap to 16-14 on McGahee’s 1-yard TD plunge with 9:29 remaining. Pittsburgh punched their Super Bowl tickets to Tampa when Troy Polamalu intercepted Joe Flacco, instinctively following his blockers Polamalu covered all 40 yards to seal the hard-fought 23-14 victory.
Back on the hard wood, the Hornets are 1.5 games behind San Antonio in the NBA’s Southwest Division of the Western Conference posting a 26-14 mark through 40 games. The Bees are 6-4 over their last ten, wins came against the Lakers, Clippers, Dallas, Detroit, New Jersey, and Indiana, but suffered losses to Utah, Cleveland, New York, and Minnesota during that stretch. Tasting success meant fans anticipated great results on the horizon, but inconsistent play and injuries have locals wondering if last year’s accolades spawned the dreaded New Orleans-itis disease. Symptoms transform playoff caliber talent into underachieving, injury prone, whiney-ass bitches who breed locker room dissension. Big Easy residents survived a previous outbreak when Baron Davis’ and Jamal Mashburn’s huge contracts coupled with their “me-me-me” mentality disrupted the organization, knocking the franchise down from perennial playoff contenders to weak cellar dwellers. Hopefully, Coach Byron Scott’s experience meets the challenge.
Next week, Big Daddy’s Saints Beat recaps the Senior Bowl, predicts some fun Super Bowl propositions, and acknowledges Chris Paul’s value to the Hornets. Learning New Orleans Saints trivia has never been easier, just log on to: www.NOSaintsHistory.com and become a Black ‘ n’ Gold expert. Now Big Daddy’s World Famous Pregame Information: — Lay The Pionts With Orlando Tonight —
