Peyton Manning. More on this below.
NFL fans. As Weeds told us this morning in the pages of the TFP, the 17th installment of Manning-Brady will decide who goes to the Super Bowl. Fitting, and the matchup all NFL fans outside of Chiefs Nation and Steelers-ville can appreciate. Plus, all of the divisional round games were very intriguing.
UTC hoops. Women have won 1,203 consecutive SoCon games. In fact, we're pretty sure the last time the UTC XXs lost in conference Hall of Fame coach Jim Foster wore knickers and went by Jimmy. Well that's close to it anyway. As for the men, wellm its double-digit win over uber-talented ETSU was impressive. We'll go all in right now and say that will be a very entertaining SoCon title game in six weeks and whomever wins will get an NCAA tournament victory.
UTC guard Moses Johnson, center, is fouled during the Mocs' home basketball game against UNC-Greensboro at McKenzie Arena on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Magic 8 ball. Our NFL picks from last went 2-2 (with two half-point decisions, one a win and one a loss). How good is Vegas? The lines last week were Arizona minus-7 (it won by 6), New England minus-5 (it got to 6 before kickoff and the Pats won by 7), Denver minus-7 (it won by 7) and Carolina minus-3 (it won by 7). So we are 4-4 against the number in the NFL playoffs. The Magic 8 ball went 4-0 last week: It had no on Andy Reid bringing a doughnut on the field; it had under 50 in Green Bay-Arizona (final 26-20); it had 'it is certain' on Cam wearing something outlandish; and it told us 'don't count on it' when asked if this would be Peyton's final game. Oh you Magic 8 ball.
Ride Along 2. Will it be nominated for an Academy Award? Don't hold your breath. But when wondering which movie knocked Star Wars from the top spot, know that it was Ride Along 2. Yep. (Don't worry about bonus money or what have you for the Star Wars folks. After this weekend, the U.S. ticket sales are around $860 million and the global numbers are at $1.8 billion.)
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Weekend losers
Titans fans. Mike Mularkey? Really, that's the best the Titans could roll with. Mike Flippin' Mularkey? You guys looked at the resumes, right? You saw that he's 18-39 as a career NFL head coach, right? You also know that in his first season with the Bills, he was 9-7, which means he's 9-32 since, right? Hey, I'm a nice guy and easy to get along with in the work place. So is Stewwie (for the most part), but that doesn't mean we're ready to be NFL head coaches. Man, now that the Clippers are good and the Jags have an improving roster and the Browns have hired an adult in Hue Jackson (no not the Wolverine, and Jackson has already lured former Titans defensive coordinator Ray Horton to Cleveland), you can make a hard argument that the Titans are the worst-run franchise in all of sports. Gross.
Oregon State basketball player Jarmal Reid. Reid was caught on camera tripping a referee Sunday night. Here's guessing Reid will enjoy a couple games off to think about his actions.
Belly-aching Packers. Whether it's Aaron Rodgers bemoaning the overtime coin flip or Clay Matthews bemoaning the NFL overtime rules, the Packers postgame needed a lot cheese with all that whine. Hey Clay, as for the overtime rules, well, here's a thought: Stop them from getting into the end zone.
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, file photo, Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field during the second half an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Green Bay, Wis. Rodgers has struggled through a poor-by-his-standards season and his team has lost six of its past ten games heading into Sunday's wild-card playoff matchup against Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File) Fitzgerald Toussaint. Yes, injuries to their top two running backs forced the Steelers to rely on Toussaint, who was on the practice squad as recently as Thanksgiving. Still, his fumble was the absolute game-changer Sunday. Pittsburgh was driving with less than five minutes left and had a 13-12 lead. Even a field-goal attempt on that drive would have left a Denver offense that had done very little with a long way to go and the pressure magnifying. But Toussaint lost a fumble - the game's lone turnover - and Peyton Manning and the Broncos drove for the go-ahead TD. Back-breaking.
Tennis. OK, the first major happening in the wee hours of the morning is always going to be a problem with the Aussie Open. But now the storyline is about match fixing. No es bueno.
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Manning's moment
Gone is the pace, Peyton Manning sprinting to the line and directing traffic to the point that opposing fans feared the worst.
Distant are the memories of deep-pass accuracy, but to be truthful arm strength and aesthetically pleasing spirals were never his strong suit.
And while the Rain Man-esque football computer in his head is still plugged in, it seems to have a slower internet connection than a few years ago, likely the product of too many hits as well as the disconnect between what he can do now and what he has always been able to do before.
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2015, file photo, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning considers a question after practice for an NFL football divisional playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, in Englewood, Colo. In the span of a few short weeks, dating to his relief appearance for the Broncos on Jan. 3, the narrative about the 39-year-old's trials and travails has shifted. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)Still, Peyton Manning won.
He stood tall and used all the weapons at his disposal - a trait that he has never gotten enough credit for through the years. He leaned on his defense and realized that a punt against a Steelers team who had a soon-to-be high school coach at running back and a rookie with all of one career catch starting at wide out was not a bad play.
In the end, Manning has gotten more grief for not winning enough than any player in NFL history (Dan Marino was labeled for not winning one; Manning has been brandished forever for not having won more than one. Side note: Cue OG who will remind us here that lil' bro Eli has two, and anyone who truly believes Eli is better than Peyton needs a rubber room at Moc Bend. Heck, even mom Olivia would have a hard time keeping a straight face claiming they are the same.)
To label him as under-achieving or less than immortal because his postseason struggles is to ignore the all-encompassing essence of sports most complete team game. Manning has worn the bull's eye of public scorn far too often after a playoff loss that swing on a missed kick or a defensive lapse or the dreaded 'cold-weather' conditions.
The losses are still there, and they certainly have a point in the discussion of the greatest ever. In truth, that's modern day sports. When comparing the greatest of our all-timers, we focus far too much on the short-comings of the rest of the field. Brady supporters point to Manning's playoff shortcomings; Manning boosters call Brady a cheater.
It's how we are and how we argue. It also hides the fact that we have somewhat selfishly and self-servingly have missed the greatest individual rivalry in all of team sports. This is Russell-Chamberlain played out in the 24/7 news cycle. It's LeBron-Jordan going toe-to-toe in their heydays. It's a young Mike Tyson reminding us that a young Ali, like everyone else has a plan until he gets punched in the mouth, and then getting to see Tyson-Ali settle it in the ring over and over again.
Those are the surroundings and the settings for one final Manning-Brady showdown, one that we should treasure since it could very well be the last.
And we stand here for the first time in recent memory because Manning led the Broncos by Pittsburgh by turning the heckles of postseason past into a solid if not spectacular effort.
That effort on Sunday evening was as juxtaposed as Manning playing the role of cautious and careful gunslinging sheriff knowing his posse of a stout defense was never more than a third-down away.
Manning's stats Sunday - 21-of-37 for 222 yards, no TDs, no picks - were far better than they look because of dropped passes and purposeful incompletions.
That too is an outlier to his narrative. After a career filled with 300-yard postseason losses, Manning's meddling stats are dwarfed by a game-winning TD drive and the only stat that matters - Denver 23, Pittsburgh 16. For the guy - and those that say Manning is the GOAT - who has posted record-setting stats but headed to the losing locker room in the playoffs more times than not, this was a performance that his critics can not criticize with the same line of thinking.
It's fitting that the quarterback that mentally made his way to Canton - be it preparation or "Omaha, Omaha" audibles - leaves us pondering about how he flipped script of the moment.
Well-played Peyton. One more Sunday in the sun. One more dance with Brady. One more chance to be Super again.
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This and that
- Auburn beat Kentucky in basketball. It was the man-bites-dog moment of the weekend, and since we have not seen any of the highlights, we're not completely sure it happened.
- Apparently the Astros are now in the Cespedes sweepstakes.
UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman warms up before the Mocs' season-opener football game against Jacksonville State at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.- Here's a little look at the field at Bristol Motorspeedway for UT and Virginia Tech.
- Also of UTC football note, Jacob Huesman was named MVP of a college all-star game this past weekend, and the Mocs added Rob Spence to their coaching staff.
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Today's question
Who won and lost the weekend? (If you're curious, the 7-and-8 Auburn Tigers youth team had a nice 30-12 win Saturday, hours before the actual Auburn Tigers shocked Kentucky. Sorry Chas.)
In honor of Manning-Brady (or Brady-Manning, for you Spy), we'll go old-school and ask for the best individual rivalries in team sports.
Who's on the Rushmore, which actually will be eight images, so we're going to need a bigger boat.