Cable's The Guy

It is being reported that Undead Al has "officially" decided on removing the "interim" tag from in front of Tom Cable's name. Making him the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the 2009 season.

I am pretty happy with this decision. As I have said before, he brings continuity to the team. Many of players have come out and said that they wanted Cable back, including JaMarcus Russell. Cable may have made a couple of bone-headed play calls, most notably, at home against KC when he decided to pull out the ole' fake field goal, and KC ended up getting six points for themselves out of it.

The reason he was probably the right man is that he actually wanted the Raiders job. That's a project in itself. It's a known fact that, for Cable, the Raiders are his dream job.

There are also reports that Al has also decided upon his coordinators as well. Ted Tollner, the recently fired 49ers QB's coach, who has experience as an O coordinator, and is old as dirt. John Marshall is allegedly the guy for the vacant D coordinator spot. He has been the Seahawks defensive coordinator for the past three years. I like this one, but I'm not sure about the Tollner pick. We'll just have wait and see I guess.

At least we have our coach finally. Now we can shift out focus and attention to re-signing Lechler and Asomugha. We need both of them.

Super Bowl is Finally Here

After the long drawn-out wait, we finally have this glorious day in American culture. Super Bowl Sunday.

Today we have the opportunity to watch what is going to be a very entertaining game, and what are going to be very entertaining commercials. I can't wait for the new E-Trade baby commercials, they are going to be a hoot.

As far as the game is concerned, it's going to be a battle between the high-octane Arizona Cardinals offense featuring, arguably, the best WR in the game in Larry Fitzgerald. They will be trying to get some yardage against, arguably, one of the best defenses in NFL history in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I've been going against the Cardinals for the duration of this great playoff run. Who would have thunk that they would be here, not me. Having said that, I am going to continue to go against the Arizona Cardinals. I think Pittsburgh has their great defense, but they have a pretty potent offense themselves. I think this one might come down to the wire, and it had better after all this anticipation. Pittsburgh wins Super Bowl XLIII 27-24.

Maryland @ #2 Duke

The Maryland Terrapins travel to Cameron Indoor to face the #2 Duke Blue Devils today at 12 ET.

Duke is on a roll right now with Gerald Henderson playing as good as anyone in the country right now. Kyle Singler is no slouch either. Henderson is probably the most athletic player in the nation, especially considering his 6'4" frame.

Today is a good opportunity for Maryland to shock the world and go to Durham and upset a good team on the road. This could be just like they did last year around this time, going to Chapel Hill and taking down the #1 team in all the land, UNC.

They're going to need Greivis Vasquez to step up and be the great leader that he is. If Vasquez struggles it could be a long day. He has a tendency to shoot too much when he's not having a good day. This usually isn't a good formula for Maryland.

Now prediction time. I think that Maryland has good chance to win today, as Gary Williams will have the kids ready to go for this one. It is so hard to go against Duke though, but they should be on alert today. Dukies win 69-60.

Bucks Get 32 From Charlie V

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Dallas Mavericks at the Bradley Center Wednesday night. Actually they destroyed the Mavs 133-99. The Bucks held the Mavericks to only 36% shooting.

Charlie Villanueva had 32 points and 10 boards as a starter for the suprising yet, inconsistent Bucks. Michael Redd got his typical 27 points, while Richard "RJ" Jefferson had 15. Each RJ and Redd had 7 rebounds.

The Bucks were playing in there fifth consecutive game without 7' foot Center Andrew Bogut.

The Bucks have been playing better defense this year and that has led to their 21-24 start. That's better than I thought they would be at this point in the year. However, they have been highly inconsistent this season. How can you go to San Antonio and win one and then lose to the Bobcats and Clippers?

There are numerous rumors of the Bucks trading someone. I just hope that it isn't Michael Redd. He is a decent leader and a great basketball player. I'd hate to see the Bucks trade the face of the franchise.

The Sharks Get a Big One

Amidst all the non-sense about the Sharks having a potential collapse, the Detroit Red Wings came to town Saturday night.

This was a great opportunity for the Sharks to show the League that they are still the best team in the NHL.

They did just that. The Sharks beat the Red Wings 6-5 on Saturday. They got four assists from winger Ryan Clowe. A game-winning goal and two assists from Milan Michalek. Even Wisconsin native Joe Pavelski got into the act with one goal on seven shots.

This was a big victory for San Jose, as they went three points up on Detroit for 1st place in the Western Conference, and bolstering the confidence of the team.

I am looking forward to the February 1oth matchup between San Jose v. Boston, who are #1 in the East currently. That one will be on Versus Network at 6 p.m.


-Mitch
Boom's Business

Tony Dungy to Step Down as Coach

It was made official Monday morning. Amongst all the speculation, Tony Dungy will indeed be stepping down as head man of the Indianapolis Colts.

This is a little bit of a sad day for the NFL, as one of the true class acts of my lifetime will no longer be a coach in the NFL, for the time being. He has come out and stated that he wants to do community work with young men in the Indianapolis area. That's great Mr. Dungy, good for you. He has wanted to do this for the last two seasons, since winning the Super Bowl of the 2006 season. I guess, now is the time for it. I wouldn't be suprised if he came back in a few years, but now he feels it's the right thing to do.

Associate HC Jim Caldwell will take over the team. This is common knowledge because he was confirmed to be the "head coach in waiting" before last season.


Mitch Pratt
Boom's Business

Trouble in Beantown?

The Boston Celtics dropped another game again last night.

They have lost now seven of nine since starting out with a league best 27-2 record. At least they lost to, probably, the best team in the East. LeBron and the Cavaliers.

LeBron had 38 points and played stifling defense on Paul Pierce. As I look at this game, there was very little bench production. Daniel Gibson had 10 off the bench for Cleveland, Eddie House had 8 off the bench for the C's.

I was hearing the players of the Celtics talk about how they"need to get their defensive swagger back." I think that statement is false. They need to get their offensive swagger back. Since their Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics haven't scored more than 90 points in any of their losses in regulation.

That has to change in order for Boston to regain its dominance. Until then, I'll be laughing about them losing so much.

-Mitch