Hole Punch Sports

I’m not even going to bother with a link-everyone who’s reading this already knows Jay Cutler will start for the Broncos Sunday against Seattle. What you don’t know is whether it’s a good move, and that’s where I come in. Here are some arguments for and against the change that I’ve either heard or made up: Pro No. 1: A young quarterback can revitalize an offense. Look at the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo this year. (Yes, I know I already used that quarterback change as an example of what NOT to do. Shut up.) Once Bledsoe came out, the team was reborn-the offense especially. Yes, Bledsoe’s ceiling was more established than Plummer’s. But we know what Jake can and can’t do. While Cutler’s not any more mobile than Plummer, he’s got a better arm. Or so I’m told-I didn’t really watch the preseason. But two things jump out at anyone watching the Broncos try to move the ball this year: 1. Wow, Javon Walker is good; and, 2. Why don’t they throw to him on every play? Plummer can throw deep-it w...

To introduce today's topic, please welcome my Chargers season preview, courtesy of the world-renowned Hole Punch Archives: Yes, [the Chargers have] exceeded expectations the last few seasons, but Brees provided a lot of that grit. I think San Diego will compete with Oakland for the division cellar. Yikes. Instead the Chargers are 7-2 heading into Sunday night's game in Denver (6:15 on NBC). Here are some Fun Facts: San Diego is 4th in the league in offense. (Denver? 19th) San Diego is 1st in scoring, Denver is 23rd. San Diego is 8th in defense. Denver ranks 13th. San Diego is 11th in scoring defense. Ha, losers. Denver is still 1st. Philip Rivers is third in the league in passer rating. Jake Plummer is not. (He's 28th.) LaDainian Tomlinson already has 932 yards on the ground, with seven games to play. (Oh, and since I probably won't talk about the 49ers much, mad props to my man who's currently fifth in rushing.) You get the point. Fine, one more: Rivers has thrown...

Hey, kids! I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the Nuggets-I haven’t-but they just lost Kenyon Martin for the year following knee surgery. When I saw this, it made sense-he never really got better from last year, did he? Except, oh wait...it’s his other knee. And he doesn’t even know what caused it. That’s an encouraging sign. It’s always good to lose a year and not really know why. He’ll be totally healthy next year though, right? Good thing the Nuggets are only on the hook for sixty million dollars or so. While we’re on the topic of chronic knee injuries...the sixty million Martin is guaranteed is more than the $56 million in Terrell Davis’ biggest contract, most of which he never would have seen if he had remained healthy anyway. And Davis was a league MVP-probably the best football player in the world-while Martin is, usually, just one of the best forwards on his team. That’s why I don’t think NFL players who hold out are all that crazy or selfish, even though they’d m...

My thoughts on the college football season... 1. Colorado is not good. I meant to live-blog a game or something, but really, what other conclusion could I have come to? There’s plenty of blame to go around-the new coach hasn’t made a lick of difference, Bernard Jackson throws more passes to the ground than to his receivers (49.7% completion rate this year), and the defense has kept things just close enough to get us beat. By the way, how much of a grace period does a new coach get? Do we give him four or five years to get all of his kind of players on the team? Or can we expect him to, you know, do his job the first few years, too? I don’t think Dan Hawkins should be fired or anything, but I guess I expected a lot more this year. 2. BYU is back...I guess. Somehow BYU has slipped back in to its rightful place at the bottom of the Top 25 polls. I’m not the biggest fan of Alma’s mater, though I do hate Utah at least as much as I despise Nebraska. When I was a kid, the Captain and I use...

It's a nice little coincidence. Sunday the Broncos face the Steelers, who knocked them out of last year's playoffs. Tomorrow night the Nuggets play the L.A. Clippers, who knocked them out of last year's playoffs. Friday the Avalanche host the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who knocked them out of last year's playoffs. (All right, the part about the Avs was a complete fabrication, but you believed me, didn't you?) Forget the Steelers game. The last thing I want to talk about right now is Denver's football team. (Seriously, what was that Sunday? I finally start to fall for the defense, and voila! Peyton Manning, for the first time ever, gets the better of it. You win some, you lose to the Colts.) I'm not so excited about the Clippers game either, per se, but I am glad the NBA is back, especially after this week. So what has changed from when we last left the squad? (Not that much.) New guys: The Smiths, Joe and J.R., might be Denver's most effective sibling duo...