Blue and White
White ViewBy Sam Bryner
Blue ViewBy David Baker
Patriots or Colts.White: Simply put, both of these teams have been dominating so far this season, as both have 8-0 records. And both have record-setting quarterbacks leading their teams up and down the field. So how do you pick a winner of this game? Is it whoever has home-field advantage? In this case, that would mean Indy. Maybe you can look at the opposition each team has faced and say the winner will be the team who has faced the toughest competition? I really can’t decide who will win this game. They are so similar in all areas of their games that a winner is tough to pick. But I will follow my gut feeling and say the Patriots win.
Blue: Every week I’m forced to choose between two grave evils facing our world. Why the pressure? Can’t there be a good guy? Previously, I’ve said sports decisions like this one are analogous to politics, but this is more like picking a way to die. This will be painful and ultimately find me marooned in some deep level of hell with awful people like Mussolini and Bono. But would I rather be burned at the stake, roasted over a fire fueled by the flaming passion beautiful women and sportscasters have for Tom Brady, or is it better to be crushed to death by a cascade of raw Peyton Manning commercial footage? Crushing seems faster. I’ll go with the Colts.
Suprised by the Red Sox sweep in the world series.White: No. Coming into the series, Boston had better pitching, hitting and more experience. The Rockies were trying to ride a wave of what up to the point of the World Series was a fairytale story. Well, I guess in this fairy tale, the clock struck 12 and the magic that was the Colorado Rockies ended along with any sort of chance of hanging with the Red Sox. Boston will probably be back in the series within the next couple of years, if not next year. As for the Rockies, I don’t expect to see them still playing come late October next year.
Blue: Well, I don’t know how many people actually read this consistently-my guess is three that aren’t related to me-but last week I picked the Rockies to win in a sweep. So was I surprised? Is Star Jones kind of hot now that she isn’t Al Roker’s doppelganger? Not a good analogy. Those are off today, sorry. Of course I was surprised-not about my lack of wit-but my lack of perception regarding the World Series. My Rockies were hot coming in, and they cooled off really quickly. But I still maintain the beer method is the only way to make picks. That mishap was no reflection on the technique.
Early favorite to win the NBA Championship.White: Oh yes, basketball is upon us, and it is time for my crowning of the next World Champion in the NBA. For those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise. I pick this team every year. Call it a homer pick. Call it crazy. Call it whatever you want. Not only will I pick this team this year, but chances are I’ll pick them every year for the rest of my life. Anyway, on with the business. The 2007-08 NBA champions will be … drum roll please … the San Antonio Spurs. No, just kidding. I believe the Utah Jazz will go all the way this year.
Blue: My beer prediction method would lead me straight to the Milwaukee Bucks-Pabst Brewing Company is located there, what can I say? I think I’m going to have to go with a different means of picking, since to be honest-because the Blue and White Sports Debate is a safe place, a no-judgment zone-I don’t start caring about the NBA until May. Sadly, the beer method only works when my heart is in it, and until late January or early February, the NFL has my heart. So, the pick will have to be based on pure instinct, some basketball Spidey sense. I’ll go with the Boston Celtics. They will beat the Jazz in a series that features the kidnapping of the Jazz’s best player.
Yankees Rant.White: I strongly dislike the Yankees. I dislike the fact they try to buy championships. I dislike the fact they are in the news every day for one thing or the other. Their season has been over for quite some time now, but from the time that they got eliminated from the playoffs until now, they have been taking up valuable minutes on SportsCenter. Can we please move on now? They have a new manager and they decided A-Rod would not be back. Please do not talk about them anymore. Move onto topics that people care about, like the NFL or bowling.
Blue: I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing about the Yankees. I am. I’d rather hear another story about Kid Rock beating down a fellow trailer park dweller in front of a Waffle House. That’s not really a lie, I love that story. But one thing about this whole Yankees thing is Joe Torre comes out looking awesome. For the last couple years, the talk is always about the Yanks keeping Torre on. Joe said screw that. I don’t want to come back and deal with it anymore. You guys can’t fire me, I quit. You go Joe. And he is probably to L.A. Good for him. Some sun and bikinis will be perfect medicine.
NFL Mid-Season MVP.White: It’s Tom Brady, right? Or if not Brady, then Peyton Manning has to be the No. 2 candidate. Maybe. But I am going to suggest the mid-season MVP be someone who truly is the most valuable player to his team. Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns is having a fine season, and up to this point, he has led the Browns to a winning record. Anyone who can do that deserves the MVP. He is playing so well that Cleveland fans are forgetting about rookie quarterback Brady Quinn. As for Quinn, he should get comfortable on the bench because unless Anderson goes down with an injury, that is where he’ll be.
Blue: I was going to come out and pick someone ridiculous. Maybe the equipment manager for the Houston Texans-his name is Jay Bruentti, if you were wondering. But after the Monday night game, my MVP is none other than the inventor of the printing press and publisher of the book, “How to Burn the Broncos’ Secondary,” the ageless one, Johann Brett Favre Gutenberg. Favre burned the best pair of corners in the league in Champ Baily and Dre Bly, once each-with Bly’s toasting sealing the game for the Packers. Also, Favre is still putting up numbers and carrying an offense with little or no running game to a 6-1 record.
Rant.White: Sports fans listen up. We are entering what I consider to be the best time of year for sports. The NFL is in full swing. College football is going strong now that the Bowl Championship Series standings are out. That is enough to keep me happy, but on top of that, we have basketball season starting. The NBA began last night and college ball tonight. With the frenzy of exciting sports to watch, one must ask themselves, “How do I juggle school, work and a demanding sports schedule?” I don’t know the answer to that. I wish I did and am open for suggestions. All I know is life as a sports fan couldn’t be any better right now.
Blue: I want to take this time to apologize to all those teams I’ve jinxed with my picks lately. I feel I single-handedly cost the Rockies the World Series. I feel like Virginia Tech’s last-second loss to Boston College was all my doing. It goes back a long time, too. I picked Ryan Leaf to be my impact rookie when he was drafted in 1998. Look what happened to him. I ruined the man’s career. The Buffalo Bills’ four-straight Super Bowl losses, all me. This goes deeper than sports, though. I picked Metallica to win the first metal Grammy in 1989 and they lost to Jethro Tull. I picked Jimi Hendrix over Eric Clapton in the late ’60’s London guitar scene. Now Hendrix is dead. I’m not only a jinx, I may be a murderer.