I like to root for several individual football players because I like different aspects of how they handle their business…on the field (Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson, Tom Brady, TO and a couple others) but when it comes to teams, you guys know that I root for NY till the end. Giants or Jets? Giants all day; until the Jets are the only NY team left standing which I mentioned before. Buffalo is a last resort. Last night I got to check out the Giants as they took on the Chicago Bears in a Sunday night matchup. I went with one of my roommates from Harvard who happens to be from Chi Town and thus a bears fan; too bad for him.

Considering how tight the Giants’ division is at the moment, this was a must win game in my opinion. After our D terrorized Jay Cutler (the Bears’ QB) with NINE sacks in the first half, I guess he had too much and didn’t bother coming out for the second half. Ok, admittedly, they said he had a concussion so I hope he bounces back alright since I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. Still, our defense played an amazing game all-around and even though our offense was nonexistent in the first half and only put up 3 points we got a pair of touchdowns in the second half. Final score: 17 – 3

All in all, I had a great time (despite the rain and cold temperature) but I know it wouldn’t have been as much fun if we had ended up catching an L, or if I was in nosebleed seats; I can’t get jiggy with that. The new stadium itself is really nice and although I heard that it cost the Cowboys less $$ for their mega stadium I still think we ended up alright. It’s also interesting to imagine what the place looks like during a Jets game because you would have never known that two teams shared the stadium with the way it was decked out in Giants colors and promotional stuff. Apparently the real highlight of New Meadowlands can be seen up in the box seats though…maybe next time.

Stadium Shot

]]> http://www.samyrlaine.com/blog/new-meadowlands/feed 1 http://www.samyrlaine.com/blog/pigskin-days?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pigskin-days http://www.samyrlaine.com/blog/pigskin-days#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:57:06 +0000 Samyr Laine http://www.samyrlaine.com/?p=784 Now that the track season is over, I know that I should put up a post-season recap/analysis and I will soon enough. First thing’s first though, with the college football season starting last weekend and the NFL season starting tonight, football is back in full effect!

I’ll be keeping up with all three of my teams the entire way even though Harvard games aren’t televised and I’ll have to resort to checking scores on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. I’ll admit, Harvard football isn’t Texas football but I’m still a proud alum nonetheless, and always look for the Crimson to win the Ivy League and smack Yale around in the process. Speaking of Texas though, of course I have different expectations as far as they’re concerned. After week 1 the Longhorns are sitting at #5 in the AP Top 25 and #4 in the USA Today Poll. Considering some of the teams that are above us in both polls I don’t doubt that we’ll inch our way to the top soon enough. I expect Alabama, without Mark Ingram, to lose to Penn State on Saturday and something tells me that Ohio State won’t make it through the season undefeated so they’ll drop as well. I was hoping that Virginia Tech would have taken care of Boise State on Monday evening but clearly that didn’t go down as I would have liked. We’ve got a new quarterback now that Colt McCoy is taking his talent to the Cleveland Browns but I trust Garrett Gilbert and like how he played the 2nd half of the National Championship game last year when he was unexpectedly forced to join the fray. I believe he’ll develop into a star in due time. On top of that; our defense is going to terrorize other teams as usual. So Texas will have another great season.

As far as professional football is concerned…well I represent New York all day-everyday like I do with every other sport. That said, as much as I’ve enjoyed the Jets on HBO’s Hard Knocks this year I’m a Giants fan (until the Jets are the only NY team left in the playoffs like last year; which Ayanna will not let me forget). We’re still lacking a big play receiver, there are some big injuries at crucial positions for us, and our middle linebacker and running back spots are somewhat uncertain but I don’t doubt my G-Men. Among other things, I think our defensive line will shock some people and the secondary will be far improved over last year with the addition of Antrel Rolle and return of Kenny Phillips.

The other thing that football season brings is fantasy football. I’m in 3 leagues this year as opposed to 2 in previous years but I expect the same results in this new league. I’ve been in the playoffs for both of my fantasy leagues the past two years, with a championship in one of them to go with 2nd and 3rd place finishes. This new league I’ve jumped into happens to be PPR (“point per reception” for non-fantasy football folks) and there are 18 teams in it with two separate divisions so “yes; the draft did take forever.” Here’s what my teams look like in each league though.

Team 1

(Round – Overall Pick – Name)

Team 2

Team 3 – 18 team PPR

Glad to have football back and as far as fantasy football is concerned; I have to say, I like my chances!

His stint in Detroit was marred by injuries and a good bit of team strife. According to interviews I’ve read recently, after lying to A.I. about their desire to have him to come off of the bench, the Piston’s management eventually let Iverson know that if he didn’t agree to play a 6th man role, his teammates would refuse to play with him. Huh?! It still sounds ridiculous now that I think about it, especially considering that the Pistons reportedly brought him in to help the team; in addition to, of course, making some salary room for the 2010 free agent class.  I mean, Rodney Stuckey and Richard Hamilton are good players but neither of them is Allen Iverson and if anything, Stuckey should have been coming off of the bench behind A.I. even if he is 33 or 34 years of age. Unfortunately, a similar situation evolved in Memphis as he again found himself coming off of the bench after coming back from a hamstring injury. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about A.I. being, old, washed up, or a locker room problem or team hassle. Some people are great at playing the 6th man role and simply shouldn’t be starters in the league. Others, like A.I., should never be asked to come off of the bench behind anybody let alone Michael Conley Jr. (not to be confused with his ex-triple jumper father) or Rodney Stuckey. No matter how difficult it may be to decide whether or not he should play the 1 or the 2 guard, you find a spot for him. I can’t blame him for being offended when asked to come off the bench!

So, it seems the Knicks are on the fence, after passing on A.I. during the summer. We’ve got too many small guards in my opinion to begin with, and Iverson’s addition would certainly shake things up with Cuttino Mobley, Nate Robinson, Chris Duhon, Larry Hughes and Toney Douglas already on the roster but whether or not A.I. is capable of replacing one of those guys isn’t much of a question. And on the matter of team chemistry, well that hasn’t been much of a concern for the team’s management in recent years and I feel it’s safe to say that he wouldn’t necessarily hurt chemistry since the Knicks don’t truly have any to begin with. In all honesty, what it boils down to for me is the fact that the team has 1 win. That’s ONE out of ten games. Bringing on an additional scorer could only help open things up for other players and with Iverson in particular it might even address the team’s biggest problem since he’s probably a better defender than the majority of the current team, regardless of the position in question! Additionally, if he were to stay beyond this year, which is possible since his contract wouldn’t hurt too much as far as the salary cap is concerned, Iverson might even help attract one or two of the big names in the free agent class. I don’t doubt that he’d play his heart out and love being in New York assuming he is treated appropriately. I’m just hoping that the Knicks make the right move and try to bring the Answer on board but that they remember to give him the respect he deserves! He definitely wouldn’t answer all of the team’s problems but he’d at least help them to some extent. I’m just sayin’…

So with all that said, we did some testing yesterday (just in my trainers) and my goal was to meet or exceed my personal bests, the majority of which were set last April with spikes on. Needless to say, I didn’t hit those marks so as you can imagine I was pretty disappointed. On top of that, some of my marks were even less than the testing we did last November. I eventually got to thinking though and with the help of my training partners, was able to see how much of a success the results really represent. We happen to be in the 3rd week of a new, more intense training phase including workouts that I probably wouldn’t even imagine doing last November, let alone in April when we were tapering off a bit.  Additionally, after a heavy lift Monday and intense sled/hill workout Tuesday I can honestly say that my test results from yesterday no longer disappoint me as they initially did.

I realize that the goal at this point in my training is to be stronger than I’ve ever been, both in and outside of the weight room and I certainly feel as if I’m approaching, if not at that level. So as my coach said, this testing is simply to set a baseline for future testing this season and should be compared to last year. Since this is a new year, with new training that has my body feeling almost entirely new…I can dig that. I posted the results below so you can keep track of my progression with me. Let’s just say that next time I will most certainly be comparing the test results to last April’s, in addition to yesterday’s of course. Now, about the number 27…

I’ll admit a couple of things right off the bat. I am NOT a baseball fan and I am NOT from New  York City.  With that out of the way, I AM from New York STATE, which, as most people forget, the City is a part of. On top of that, I root for NY sports teams through thick and thin which includes the Knicks who are 1 and 4 this season and the Giants who have lost 3 in a row (I have faith that both of those teams will get it together, the latter more likely than the former). So for all my Yankee fans, go ahead and play that “Empire State of Mind,” “New York New York,” or “New York State of Mind,” which ever suits your fancy because as I count…last night marked our TWENTY-SEVENTH championship.

November ’09 Jump Test Results