Checking in

Haven't checked in here for awhile. It's kind of hard to motivate yourself to sit inside and write on your off-day when it is 70 degrees in the middle of winter. Nonetheless ...

*Let me get the self-promotional stuff out of the way first. I had a piece go up on FOXSports.com a couple weeks back looking into the notion of East Coast bias and whether it actually exists. It got posted on Poynter's Romenesko site, and I think one sign I did a competent job is that someone posted it up on Sportsjournalists.com and it didn't get ripped to shreds. Anyway, here's the link. As an aside, it is pretty exciting to work in a newsroom where you can approach people with ideas and not only do they listen, they figure out ways to make them work, then make them even bigger.

Also, I've been posting on the FOX Funhouse blog, as has fellow FOX deskers Andy Nesbitt and Jim Rieneking, who would have fit right in here at Dave's World during the site's heyday.

*So I know I'm a few weeks late to the table on this one, but the more I think about Ben Watson's big play in the playoff loss to Denver -- which belongs on the short list of the greatest plays in the history of the New England Patriots -- the more I realized that in and of itself, it was a micrcocosm of the Patriots' season. The play and the season both started out with everything going wrong. Watson, and the Pats, both had to make ridiculous adjustments on the fly. Watston made an absolutely great hustle play to catch up to the ball at the end, like the Pats down the stretch, then made the big play -- only to not have it matter in the end.

*I've been reading David Halberstam's book on Bill Belichick and give it two thumbs up. The portion of the book I found most intruiging was the one covering Belichick's stint with the Giants. With the benefit of hindsight, BB sure seems to deserve a lot of the credit Bill Parcells gets for the Giants' two Super Bowls. In the first one, Denver led at halftime and they made defensive adjustments that shut down John Elway in the second half. In the second, the Bills came into the Super Bowl as favorites, having scored 95 points in their first two playoff games. Belichick's defense let Thurman Thomas run just enough to shut down Kelly's quick strike capability.
Hmmm ... halftime adjustments and taking a away an opposing offense's strength. Where have we heard that before? And for that matter, the Patriots were 21-27 in Parcells' first three years with the Patriots, then went to the Super Bowl with BB as assistant head coach. I don't want to dismiss Parcells entirely because his skills as a motivator were top notch, but there's a clear delineation between Parcells' record with BB as an underling and without.

*Anyone here who thinks Tim Thomas will still be shutting teams down in April, raise your hand. Actually, let me try that again -- anyone still watching the Bruins, raise your hand.

*Yes, I'm still watching Mexican wrestling on Galavision. Pretty horrible result last Saturday, as Dr. Wagner Jr. lost the NWA light heavyweight title to all-time wuss Atlantis. Dr. Wagner Jr. is the son of an evil doctor who did not follow the Hippocratic oath, and you're telling me he is going to lose to someone who lives under the sea? Gimme a break. On a better note, there's a Lucha VaVoom show in LA next month featuring Blue Demon Jr. and Super Porky vs. Los Villanos III y IV, and you damn bet I'll be there.

*So, 20 years ago, the top seeded team from the NFC with a killer defense played the lowest seed from the AFC, which had gone on an incredible roll and won three consecutive postseason road games to get there. And the NFC team kicked the bejeezus out of the AFC team. Same thing's going to happen here, methinks.

*Hey, did you know that Jerome Bettis is from Detroit? Did you? I bet you didn't hear that, so I'm telling you. Now, if Bettis is from Detroit and plays his final game there, does that mean The Bus has made a round trip? LOLOLOLOL!!!

Sorry.

*In 'n' Out Burger. Reason No. 23424534 or so why I might never leave SoCal.

*Hello Garrett.