Pick of the Week

What happened to Pittsburgh this year? They started out slow, recovered in the middle, and now they're falling apart again.

I don't think that this will be their turnaround week, considering that they'll have to deal with Aaron Rodgers. Expect the defensive woes to only be maximized. I like Rodgers and the Packers in this one.

Wings show signs of return

Early on in the season, things were strange and unusual for Red Wings fans. We watched in disbelief as our Wings hovered around .500. It just didn't seem like it was happening. This was the Red Wings after all.

And yet, it looked as if the Red Wings, the most dominant team in the NHL over the last 15 years, give or take, were heading into the season as underdogs. Underdogs.

Players had gone away. Marian Hossa headed to Chicago, Jiri Hudler to Moscow. Johan Franzen remains out for a few more months with a torn ACL, while Valteri Flippula is expected back sometime after Christmas. Niklas Kronwall, Dan Cleary, Jonathan Ericsson, and Jason Williams are all injured as well.

But recent games have brought back hope. It's mainly the new faces that are providing it, too. Patrick Eaves, Jimmy Howard, and Drew Miller are just a few of the young stars that have been shining lately. Add Todd Bertuzzi's recent perfomances, and things are suddenly going very, very well.

Should Franzen, Flippula, and the other wounded Wings return, things may actually look more promising than ever. The Red Wings will have immense depth, should the young guys continue to perform well.

Even better here is the fact that, as a team now compsed of young stars, the Wings look to be in for bright future. Why, who knows? It's very possible to say that, in 5 years or so, Eaves and Flippula will be the equivalent of Datsyuk and Zetterberg; Howard the equivalent of Chris Osgood (come to think of it, Howard could be there in more like one year, the way he has been playing).

But what about now? Well, this is the Red Wings. They can overcome a rough start. They certainly have the weapons to do so. Once the injured players return, they will probably be better than they were last year. I mean, they would have most of the same guys, with extra depth, defensive improvement, and a much better goaltending situation.

For the first time all season, things are looking up in Detroit.

Extra Pick of the Week

I can't believe the lack of respect that Eli Manning and the New York Giants are getting. Even more unbelievable is how great most people think that the Philadelphia Eagles are.

Yep, you guessed it. I'm picking the Giants in this one.

Grand Shame

If only the Detroit Tigers had won that one-game playoff last year. If only they hadn't wasted so much money on Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman. If only, if only, if only.

But neither of those things happened, and now Curtis Granderson is gone. Gone, gone, gone. And what a shame.

Granderson seemed to be among the few players in sports who had a good grasp on life. When the Tigers first offered him a contract, he turned them down because he wanted to go to college and get an education. How many athletes do that today?

But that didn't matter to Mr. Illitch or Mr. Dombrowski. They went ahead and dealt him away to the New York Yankees to add pitching and build for the future. Whether it works remains to be seen.

But even if it does, it's a crying shame that this day came.

With the possible exception of Brandon Inge, Granderson was our most beloved Tiger. He sparked the team and fired up the fans. His power, speed, fielding, and smile made him an instant favorite. Not to mention all the charity work he did.

Wednesday, December 9, ought to go down as a sad, sad day in Tigers history. It will go down as the day that we lost a kind, humble man whose attitude is difficult to replace.

Alas, perhaps the greatest role model in recent sports history is gone.

Pick of the Week

Sorry, Drew, but after your Saints' narrow escape, I'm taking the Falcons to beat you guys this week. Here's to hoping that the Colts become the only undefeated team after this week!

Still Smiling, Still Perfect

Heading into the season, apparently the Indianapolis Colts were in for a weaker season. They had lost head coach Tony Dungy and wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Peyton Manning was getting older, and the defense was continuing to decline. They were finished right? The Colts were to compete, but fail to win the division due to the much-improved Houston Texans.

Funny how that sounds today, isn't it? I didn't say any of that. On the contrary, I felt that the Colts were still a great team. I'm only summarizing what I learned from Sport's Illustrated's NFL Preview. Shouldn't be a huge surprise. They also failed to see what I saw when Jay Cutler went to the Bears: As I predicted, Cutler didn't shape Chicago. Chicago shaped Cutler. But I digress.

The Colts won again on Sunday. And I'm sure Peyton flashed that old, lovable smile of his sometime after winning. The Manning smile. The one we see him flash all the time. Whether it's after the game, or in one of his funny little commercials.

It is virtually impossible to not love Peyton Manning. He is America's quarterback. Unlike many other stars, he never did anything wrong. Everything that Manning has done has been good. So we smile too. We smile when we watch him playing. We smile, sometimes laugh hysterically, when we see him performing some kind of comedic act. We smile when he throws a touchdown, unless it's against our favorite team of course. Even then, we're tempted.

Why do we love this guy? Is it the casualness of the smile, the small little grin that it is? Maybe it's the droll in his voice that makes him irresistably funny. Perhaps it's that we see in him what we don't see in virtually all of the other stars: A guy that doesn't get into trouble, doesn't lose his cool, doesn't have ridiculous celebrations following his success, and isn't afraid to poke a little fun at himself, rather than bashing someone else.

Manning deserves respect. What he has done is truly amazing. At 33, he is in what may just be his best season yet. He has a league-leading 3,685 passing yards and a 101.9 passer rating.

But even more impressive is what Peyton has done with the cards he was dealt. This isn't New Orleans, where Drew Brees can enjoy the luxury of a great offensive line and several talented wide receivers and running backs. Instead, Peyton has been forced to play with a new coach and mostly new receivers. Yes, Brees is a good quarterback. But the difference here is that New Orleans shaped Drew Brees. Peyton Manning shaped Indianapolis.

He has made names out of unknown people. Fun names, too (for some reason I can't stop saying "Pierre Garcon"). He has done so much for the team. Who would've thought that they would be 12-0 at this point, with the only other undefeated team being the New Orleans Saints, who, due mainly to luck, narrowly escaped the clutches of the oh-so-talented 3-9 Washington Redskins? Not me. As I said earlier, I thought that they would be good. But even I did not see this coming.

What makes Manning great is, well several things. But his greatest attribute is his head. The greatest quarterback ever would be one with Tom Brady's heart and Peyton Manning's head. It's amazing how great Manning is at managing the game, how he always seems to be calm and in control. I always laugh when I hear people questioning how the Colts are doing so good with a "new coach". My response is always the same. The Colts don't have a new coach. It's the same coach they've had for 12 years.

Peyton Manning.

Peyton has once again worked his way into the MVP talk, and I hope he wins it. He deserves it. I'm not sure if Peyton really cares, though. He already has 3 of them, the most of all time.

Whether he wins it or not, one thing is for sure. Peyton Manning will continue to smile, and so we will, too.

Christmas post

Bet none of you can get this one:

Who originally wrote and composed Jingle Bells and what purpose was it originally written for? (No cheating. Please just take your best guess)