Hole Punch Sports

Three things: I love Microsoft! Mostly because of the Xbox, but I have now decided I love MSN Search as well . (I'm not listed nearly that high on Google, which makes no sense, considering Google owns Blogspot.) Also, how about these cats , who say Vince Young will be outperformed by the immortal Brett Basanez? And third, according to the Denver Post , the Nuggets have agreed to a three-team trade in which they Give up: Earl Watson Bryon Russell Voshon Lenard A second-round pick And collect: Ruben Patterson Charles Smith Reggie Evans First off, what we gave up. A second-round pick in the NBA, especially in our less-than-able hands, is essentially useless, so what the heck. Bryon Russell doesn't have a turnover all season in his three minutes of play. Voshon wasn't allowed to play, either, for whatever reason , so while we lose two shooters, we don't really lose anything. And Earl Watson is one of the most bizarre signings in recent memory, considering we acquired him, i...

One of the most common questions I hear lately-aside from, “Hey, you’re that guy from Hole Punch Sports-can I have your autograph/number?”-is whether the Broncos can ever win a Super Bowl with Jake Plummer. It's a good question. The quick answer is yes, since Jake is obviously more talented than recent Super Bowl champion passers like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson. Sometimes the success of journeymen is attributed to the salary cap for reasons I don’t understand. However, players like Dilfer and Johnson are clearly still the exception when it comes to championship quarterbacks. Other cap-era winners include John Elway, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger. And besides, Bowl winners before the cap weren’t all destined for the Hall-or have you forgotten Mark Rypien? Having said that, Dilfer and Johnson weren’t really that bad. Dilfer was a tough and selfless leader, while Johnson’s combination of immobility, accuracy, and mistake-free play made him almost the anti-Plummer. Regardless, I...

Last summer, I was telling one of my friends how competitive my family can be. We’re not one of those lame families that holds grudges for years, but if you’re keeping score or there’s going to be a winner, at least one participant will, at all times, obsess over winning. My friend agreed, saying her family was the same way. Their family had to stop playing board games because her brothers would get upset after a loss and send the pieces flying. This is ludicrous to me. We were supposedly talking about the same thing, but our definitions were worlds apart. To me, throwing a fit when you lose has nothing to do with being competitive. All it proves is your immaturity and inability to handle setbacks-not that I, of course, have never been guilty of the same type of behavior. Meanwhile to me, the concept of competition is almost a sacred one. You’re always taught to give your best, and while that’s probably impossible, the desire to do so shows a respect for yourself, your teammates and e...

If you didn't see this, then click here . As Elway told the Post, "I think there are a lot of things about T.O. that none of us really knows, but obviously he can ruin a football team. If it were up to me I would say no. I think the Broncos are close enough anyway, and they don't need a guy who's too much of a risk." First off, I agree completely that T.O. can ruin a team. That is obvious, and I have no reason to think he won't eventually turn on everyone here (though he might not, just to mess with everyone's head). Are the Broncos really that close to a title? Well, yes, they're closer than they've been since Elway retired. Of course, Elway never played on a team that didn't have Elway's leadership, and I don't know if we're really that close, or that's just his hyper-competitiveness speaking. John Elway obviously knows a lot more about football than I do. Having said that...I still kind of think it's worth the risk, depen...

I was so underwhelmed by the Super Bowl that I didn't craft a timely response. Too bad, huh? The Captain wrote in today to ask, "Man, that game was freaking ugly. Did either team actually deserve to win?" And this was the response I wrote him before I decided to kill two birds and post it here: Absolutely not! Neither team looked ready for the game Sunday in what was easily the most disappointing 'Bowl I've seen in some time. I don't think I've ever seen both teams look so unprepared; I'm afraid of how many times I will hear that credited to parity, which I don't really believe in, over the coming months. First, the officiating was awful, not unlike the Rose Bowl. I couldn't believe it. I don't want to say it caused Seattle to lose, because it didn't, but some of those calls were incredibly bogus-especially the phantom holding followed by Matt Hasselbeck's "illegal" tackle on the interception return. Definitely a momentum...

A confession: despite earlier proclamations, I am far from uninterested in the outcome of Sunday’s game. In fact, I’ll say it: I am still so bitter that the Steelers knocked out my Broncos that there is no way I will pick a Steelers win on my website. And it goes without saying (but since I’m self-indulgent, I’ll say it anyway) that I will be pulling for the Seahawks all day long. Yet I honestly believe the Seahawks can and will defeat Pittsburgh in Sunday’s battle for the Lamar Hunt trophy-make that Lombardi trophy (4 p.m. Mountain, ABC). The reasons? 1) The Seahawks are very good on offense. Like I’ve noted, the Seahawks were the league’s highest-scoring team this year. Pittsburgh ranked a bit lower thanks to this man , but even if we count only the games Ben Roethlisberger played in, they still couldn’t keep pace with Seattle on the scoreboard. Add to Matt Hasslebeck’s emergence the idea that Shaun Alexander may have finally overcome his struggles in big games, and it’s tough to se...

I must not be a patriot. Not because I barely glanced at the State of the Union, but because I’ve had a hard time getting excited about the Super Bowl. See, it doesn’t quite feel like the NFL championship game. Maybe it’s the week off. Maybe it’s the matchup between two AFC teams. Maybe it’s because they’re playing it in February. Whatever the cause, I’m not alone. The guys playing in the game basically didn’t care about it either. Don’t believe me? Check these quotes from Steelers linebacker Joey Porter : “I've been asleep all week but now I got woke up...Until now, it was 'Watch what I say,' 'I can't say this,' 'I can't say that,' 'Don't do anything silly,' but I'm ready now.” First off-is he serious? We've got a grown man who prefers to be called “Joey”? Also, he's been sleeping all week-as in, not interested in the Super Bowl? Porter’s comments came after Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens, who counters “Joey” by spelling ...