Author Archive

Resting Starters Stinks, but NFL Should Have No Say in Matter

Posted: 4th January 2010 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
IÆm with every irate fan in Indianapolis who couldnÆt stomach watching the hometown Colts tank against the New York Jets two week ago, costing the franchise and city a chance at perfection. As a fan, it goes against everything you want to see when you pay good money to come to the stadium. It all stinks. Preseason football is supposed to take place in August, not Week 16. But in reality, itÆs ...

Is Too Much Talent the Los Angeles Lakers’ Biggest Problem?

Posted: 29th December 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NBA
Suppose everyday after school, a 16-year-old plays Madden with his 8-year-old brother. Game after game, day after day, month after month, the older brother demolishes the younger one. ItÆs not even close. We are talking scores of 56-3. After a while, the older boy realizes, because he is so much better than his brother, he can do practically anything he wants in the game and still win. He can play as the Detroit ...

Born to Ball: Kevin Durant’s Ascent to the NBA’s Elite

Posted: 23rd December 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NBA
Only three years ago, this young man, with the perilously thin limbs and fluorescent smile traded, in his Longhorn burnt orange for the dying shade of Sonic green. After paying his dues for one year at Texas, Durant entered the 2007 NBA Draft as the best player on the board. If it wasnÆt for Greg Oden and basketballÆs infatuation with taking risks on potentially great big men, Durant would have found ...

Holiday Gut Reactions Tell Us Nothing About the N.F.L.

Posted: 21st December 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
What the N.F.L., and its fans, could use while Santa Claus is readying his sleigh is a little selective hearing. ItÆs fun, I suppose, to justify heat-of-the-moment reactions with vigor and debates around the fireplace, but where does a sloppy Week 15 for the leagueÆs elite leave us? In the same place we have been for weeks. Alright, alright, the gritty Jacksonville Jaguars took Manning and his boys to the wire on Thursday ...

NFL’s Request for Brains Must Yield Honest Effort to Sack Trauma

Posted: 21st December 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
The old adage applies here: Help me to help you. As we sit down to enjoy our Sunday rituals of barbecues, halftime naps, or whatever yours may be while you indulge in a day of football, one thing will always remain constant. Helmet-to-helmet collisions; foreheads hitting knees; the back of skulls exchanging low-fives with the turf; all of these vicious realities that generate immediate cringing will never fade.á They waltz hand-in-hand with the ...

No Troy Polamalu, No Super Bowl Defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Posted: 9th December 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
Without those long, ferocious, black locks soaring through the secondary, unleashing fury on opposing receivers and running backs, the Pittsburgh Steelers have nothing. Take away the man who listens to orthodox chants before games, calls Istanbul his favorite city, may be the only NFL player to spend more free time reading than playing Xbox, and you take away the Pittsburgh SteelersÆ chance to defend their Super Bowl title. Safety Troy Polamalu said ...

Minnesota Has Favre Fever, but Adrian Peterson Still Vikings’ Backbone

Posted: 29th November 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
Another Sunday in Minneapolis, another dreamland victory for the Minnesota Vikings. So life goes nowadays for the Vikes, led by a magical man who refuses to fade. After SundayÆs 36-10 thrashing of the Chicago Bears, the Vikings are slowly building momentum to January and are making their case to be called the NFCÆs best team. I know, the boys in the bayou have the most explosive offense in the NFL to ...

No Mumbling, Mark: McGwire Must Open Up During Cardinals Introduction

Posted: 11th November 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in MLB
None of us are fans of harping on the past, but when the past collides with the present, well, then we have an issue. ItÆs been four years now since Mark McGwire plopped down in a congressional hearing and stated that he was not there to ôtalk about the past,ö but more specifically, his alleged steroid use and connection to the Steroid Era. Gee, Mark, what do you think weÆve all gathered ...

For Yankees, 27th Title Is Something Entirely Different

Posted: 5th November 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in MLB
You could see it in their faces, you could read it on their lips, you could hear it in their roars. This may have been a nostalgic taste of history for many donning Yankees caps and jackets across New York, a remembrance of what was thought to be routine only a decade ago. But for the men donning the pinstripes, this was fresh. This was extraordinary. This was the first mark of ...

New England Patriots Deserve Benefit of Doubt for Now

Posted: 25th September 2009 by Teddy Mitrosilis in NFL
á Ever since Mark Sanchez dinked and dunked New England to death and Rex RyanÆs infectious defense dared Tom Brady to beat the Jets through the air last weekend, we have heard it all. WeÆve heard all of the reasons why the Patriots arenÆt that good and arenÆt nearly the team they were expected to be. Brady isnÆt confident in his knee that was shredded like a pound of hamburger before being ...