Hole Punch Sports

Who is the best team in the NFC? I know, stupid question. That's like wondering, "Who was a better interim coach, Michael Cooper or Mike Evans?" Or asking a real Colorado sports fan, "Who do you hate less, Al Davis or Bradlee van Pelt?" Nonetheless, the question remains. No matter how good you think the Colts, Broncos, Bengals or double-defending champion Patriots are, at least three of those teams will be watching from home Super Bowl Sunday as an inferior squad competes for the NFL championship. Right now five teams in the NFC have at least 10 wins, and it seems obvious to me that one of them will take the conference crown. (And I do mean one specific team, but we're getting there.) Those teams are: New York, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Seattle. I was going to say "Those teams are from," but let's face it, if Jersey's Giants are from New York, so am I. Anyway, let's start with the Giants : The positives: Eli Manning, the No. 1 ...

Stan Van Gundy, coach of the Miami Heat, resigned today , citing the time his job kept him from his family. The start of the aforelinked article says he "resigned Monday citing family reasons". That's code for: embarrassment over the job his brother is doing in Houston . In all seriousness, I always have mixed feelings over this kind of thing. If Stan Van Gundy is really leaving so he can spend time with his family, that's great. I mean, I'm sure he can afford to take some time off and that's a positive way to spend it. Family's important to me, too. At the same time, I'm not a big fan of a coach quitting in the middle of a contract, much less the middle of a season. Any player who tried this would be blasted for the rest of his career. Is being a coach a lot more time-consuming than it was last year? I doubt it. Van Gundy knew what he was getting into. Besides, shouldn't a coach be held to a higher standard than the athletes because of his positi...

Everyone's asked me lately what I think of the Gary Barnett firing, and I have to say: it feels pretty good. It doesn't feel good because he was a bad coach-the program is in eons better shape than it was under Rick Neuheisel. It doesn't feel good that we got rid of this scumbag-because he's not one. Step aside, Winston Churchill: Gary Barnett is a great man . I'm not even happy because, after the Terrell Owens situation proved me remarkably pro-labor, Barnett is pocketing $3 million. No, I'm happy because as a University of Colorado employee, this firing proves that I have basically unlimited job security. Let's face it, what hasn't Barnett done in the last few years to try to get canned? Claimed blissful unawareness of scandalous recruiting practices? Check. Insult an alleged rape victim? Check. Lose a big game 70-3? Checkmate. But hey, at least the players are starting to recognize they represent the university and are doing so with class. Um, wait, m...