The AVB Derby: Live-Blogging Spurs-Chelsea

Disclaimer: I'm a Tottenham fan. Have been for a while. My views will, therefore, be somewhat slanted.

Pre-game (day before) thoughts: Liking our chances against Chelsea ok. Most notably, John Terry is going to be out, and I can't imagine that there is a ton of depth on that defense. What I'm most interested to see is the battle in the midfield. Chelsea, who I've seen a fair amount of this season, works a very fast, finesse based game. Spurs have that ability with Bale and Lennon, but the remnants of their midfield choices seem to have   more of a 1994 Knicks sort of feel. Sandro might not be good at much (things like, you know, SOCCER), but he's very physical, and I don't know how much of a beating the smaller Chelsea mids will be able to take. Dembele is equally strong, but actually possesses some skill, and Dempsey can tackle with the best of them. The back line seems like it will be solid, though I'm not sure if Vertonghen will be fast enough at left back to hold off the speedy wingers. And who knows who is gonna start in goal. I'm confident of some result, not sure it's a win.

Immediately pre-game: Welp, so much for that. Bale is out, his lady having gone in to labor (or labour, potentially also the Labour Party) immediately before the game. Dembele is out with an injury. Replacing them are Huddlestone, who shows flashes of competence in a sea of mediocrity and doesn't possess any of Dembele's skill, and Sigurdsson, who has looked pretty much lost this season and has found himself glued to the bench for the beginning of most games. Friedel in goal: the man is solidly 80 years old, but I still feel WAY more confident with him than with Lloris. Let's see how this goes.

Kick-off: My fantasy team has locked (this game features Hazard from Chelsea and Dempsey from Spurs), and we're off.

The Tim Tebow Hater's Argument For Tim Tebow

NOTE: This post proceeds off of the assumption that the Jets have Tim Tebow, rather than trying to justify trading for him in the first place. Given that they traded for him, we all knew this day would come.

Lest ANYONE be confused, I don't like Tim Tebow. The hype is all sorts of misplaced, as he's not good at the one thing that, ostensibly, he's supposed to be good at in his capacity as an NFL quarterback: throwing a football. He's a perfectly good running back; if he was to be installed at that position, he'd be the best white running back since Mike Alstott (one good season from Peyton Hillis, who has been singlehandedly trying to kill my fantasy team, notwithstanding). So why am I about to expend serious time and energy arguing that my beloved Jets should immediately install Tim Tebow as their starting quarterback? The answer is twofold:

The HBAW Index: Ranking the NHL's Backup Goalies, #1-10

We've now reached the critical moment, the best of the best. If the starting goalie for any of these teams were to go down with an injury, once the initial panic wore off, the fanbase would say "Could be worse. At least we have (Insert Name Of Guy Here)." Again, this isn't about the dropoff from the starter, just the ability of the backup to play.  Once more into the breach, dear friends...

The HBAW Index: Ranking The NHL's Backup Goalies, #11-20

When we last left our hero (such as I am), he had gone through the bottom third of the NHL's backup goaltenders. It was a motley crew (Crue?) of prospects and disgraced former starters that I believe we were all happy to leave behind.

Now, we move onto the middle of the pack. Remembering that the rankings are in order of how boned a fanbase would be if suddenly the backup became the starter, these guys are the point where you're worried, but aren't quite jumping up and down on the panic button. Onward!

The HBAW Index: Ranking the NHLs Backup Goalies, #21-30

In case it's not become incredibly obvious, I like lists. There is something about my personality that makes me enjoy categorizing things; I also like sorting laundry. This particular list derives from a post I saw on Twitter from the folks at Blue Seat Blogs (www.blueseatblogs.com), who are making a preseason list of the top 30 goalies in the league. While this is all well and good, and I'll probably write a post arguing with their choices, I decided to approach this from a slightly different angle. Specifically, I ask the question that every hockey fan has asked at some point: In case of injury, How Boned Are We?

If You Want Something Done Right...: Re-Ranking The NFL's Starting QB's

So, about a month ago, my friend Shaun texted me Ron Jaworski's list of the top 30 QBs in football with the missive: Discuss. This triggered two parts of my personality: (1) I don't turn down intellectual challenges, and (2) Unless given a deadline, I procrastinate. So here we are, a month later, and I'm finally ready to take this on. For reference, here is Jaworski's list:

30. Tim Tebow, Jets
29. Blaine Gabbert, Jags
28. Christian Ponder, Vikings
27. Matt Flynn, Seahawks
26. Matt Moore, Dolphins
25. Kevin Kolb, Cardinals
24. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills
23. Mark Sanchez, Jets
22. Matt Cassel, Chiefs
21. Carson Palmer, Raiders
20. Sam Bradford, Rams
19. Andy Dalton, Bengals
18. Matt Hasselbeck, Titans
17. Josh Freeman, Buccaneers
16. Alex Smith, 49ers
15. Cam Newton, Panthers
14. Matthew Stafford, Lions
13. Matt Schaub, Texans
12. Michael Vick, Eagles
11. Matt Ryan, Falcons
10. Tony Romo, Cowboys
9. Joe Flacco, Ravens
8. Jay Cutler, Bears
7. Philip Rivers, Chargers
6. Ben Rothlisberger, Steelers
5. Eli Manning, Giants
4. Peyton Manning, Broncos
3. Tom Brady, Patriots
2. Drew Brees, Saints
1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Instead of just giving my rankings, I'm going to give five guys I think are overrated by Jaws, five guys I think he underrates, and then rank the 30 non-rookie starting QB's. This both seems more complete, and gets me out of talking about Tim Tebow. As a Jet fan, I think this is best for all involved.

Cookies or Crow? My 2011-12 NHL Predictions Revisited

Before the beginning of last season, as those of us who blog are wont to do, I made a set of NHL predictions. This was on my old blog (viewfromrightfield.blogspot.com). Today, I embark on another cliche of online blogging, especially for those without any ideas: revisiting my picks and seeing how they did. As a way of organizing this, I ask whether my pick deserves a cookie, or whether I need to eat crow. Without further ado, and in alphabetical order, my 2011 picks.