Hole Punch Sports

49ers kicker Joe Nedney just beat the Broncos in overtime with a Rich Karlis-esque field goal. No playoffs this year for Denver, who lost 26-23 and finished the year at 9-7. That back-and-forth yet ultimately unsatisfying game was a microcosm of the Broncos' season. Let's take a look back at the year: Biggest hangover from last season: Loss of home-field. (Jake Plummer, of course, runs a close second.) After squandering the AFC Championship at Invesco last year, the team followed up with a 4-4 mark at home this season. Some of that was scheduling-the Broncos hosted and lost to the Colts, Seahawks, and Chargers this year-but it's pretty weird for a team that plays at such a high elevation to win more games on the road than at home. Rookie of the year: Elvis Dumervil. I said after last year's loss to Pittsburgh that our biggest need was an improved pass rush. The Broncos made major strides towards solidifying their pass defense for years to come with the fourth-round...

On ESPN today, I saw two analysts debate recent comments made by the Miami Dolphins' Jason Taylor , who suggested that San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman perhaps shouldn't go to the Pro Bowl or win the NFL's defensive player of the year award in a year when he served a four-game suspension for steroid use. "You really shouldn't be able to fail a test like that and play in this league, to begin with," Taylor said Wednesday. "To make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you're walking a fine line of sending the wrong message." It's an interesting argument. Wait, no it isn't. Should you really win an award like that if you so blatantly cheated? Probably not. But I don't think Merriman deserves it anyway. The linked article (by the AP on ESPN.com) suggests that Merriman is Taylor's "chief rival" for the defensive player of the year award. If Taylor's candidacy makes you do a double-take, reconsid...

Sometimes, I don't know how to feel. And this is one of those times. As you either have heard or should have heard by now, you lazy know-nothing ingrate, a court of appeals recently ruled that...well, to be on the safe side, let's just quote the story : With Barry Bonds still in their sights, federal investigators probing steroids in sports can now use the names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, following a ruling Wednesday from a federal appeals court. The 2-1 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned three lower court decisions and could help authorities pinpoint the source of steroids in baseball. I don't know about this. If you don't remember, the first year of steroid testing was supposed to, according to reports at the time, be completely confidential-intended more as a survey to see how prevalent steroid use was in baseball before real testing-and punishment-b...

Have I bragged enough about the Nuggets' new guard? Allen Iverson has, not particularly surprisingly, been even better than advertised with his new team. He's been aggressively setting up his teammates and providing the team his infectious energy. The real question for the Nuggets now is: how good can they be when everyone is back in the lineup? Now, far be it from me to put limits on one of my favorite teams. If the Nuggets win the championship this season, no one will be happier than I'll be. But for all the talk of the team's newly-claimed elite status, there's one reason I don't think the Nuggets will win this year's title. That reason? The San Antonio Spurs. That's right, the Spurs. The team that's only in second place in the Southwest division behind the Dallas Mavericks-the very team that sent them home from the playoffs last year. The Spurs' winning percentage matches Utah's for merely the third-best in the conference (no longer t...

All right, I can't wait any longer. I've been trying not to jinx it, but here you are: As ESPN reported, the Denver Nuggets have finally wrapped up trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers and acquired superstar guard Allen Iverson. Early verdict: it's a good move. No, it's a great move. Not even that. It's a tremendous move. In the short term, Iverson can pick up the scoring slack while Carmelo is out. In the long term-when Anthony comes back-the Nuggets will have two absolutely unstoppable scorers. It may cost both players a shot at the scoring title, but it'll cost opposing playoff teams so much more. Iverson is only: 1. Hands down, no question, the toughest player since Michael Jordan. (Notice I didn't include any of that "pound-for-pound" garbage, either.) 2. One of the best scorers in NBA history. You knew that, but did you really? Michael Jordan has a higher per-game scoring average than the Answer. So does Wilt. But that's it. He's a...

I still don't want to say anything until it's really official, but if you're bored, you might enjoy this article on ESPN.com.

All right, I’m listening to David Stern’s press conference right now on NBA.com. (That website did something right!) Both teams were fined five hundred thousand dollars. Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games, Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith got 10 games, Mardy Collins got six, and Jared Jeffries is out for four games. Jerome James and Nene were suspended one game each for leaving the bench. “I’m going to start holding the teams accountable for the actions of their players,” Stern said of the fine to the teams. Personally, I don’t much care about the Knicks and Nuggets having to pay $500,000. The suspensions are almost uniformly too steep, which is too bad for the players, but not surprising. They had to know the NBA was going to come down hard on the next team that fights. Will Isiah Thomas be fined or suspended? "No, we have completed our fines and they're all set forth in this announcement," Stern said. He also suggested there wasn't enough evidence that Isiah des...

The Nuggets and Knicks got in a fight. (If you haven’t seen it yet, you can click on the links in the sidebar of this story , and you can find it a million other places.) 1. Thank you, Nate Robinson’s little-man complex, for escalating everything and, more importantly in my view, starting a fight that will get the league’s leading scorer suspended. I’m sure the Jazz are grateful. 2. Forget Darrent Williams. The Broncos should sign Carmelo to play cornerback, because he’s the only guy who can backpedal faster than Champ Bailey. 3. Supposedly George Karl was running up the score in honor of his friend, Larry Brown. Wait, why does Larry Brown hate the Knicks? If I was Larry Brown, I would sit front row at every Knicks game with a gigantic smile. Thanks for the eighteen million! Anyway, I’m sure the Knicks love the idea of teams using their games to show their true feelings about Brown. Sure, George Karl will run up the score from time to time, but a lot of other teams will show gratitude....

Time for part 2. Right now the NFC has seven teams with winning records, and even though only six make the playoffs, I’ll rank all of them. 7. Atlanta Falcons (7-6) Key stat: The Falcons lead the league with videogame numbers in rushing (197.7 yards per game) and yards-per-carry (5.6). Positives: Mike Vick is the best quarterback among the 7-6 teams, and Atlanta has won a few playoff games in recent years. Negatives: Possibly too many to list. They had a four-game losing streak. They’ve been outscored this year. The defensive statistics are pretty unimpressive, and even worse if you consider that teams with good ground games typically inflate their defensive statistics by controlling the ball. The passing attack is 32nd in the league. (Wait, why do I like Vick?) Outlook: Could be the odd man out, but if they’re in, it’s one-and-done. 6. Philadelphia Eagles (7-6) Key stat: Even with an unwanted quarterback change, the Eagles are third in offense. Good: Jeff Garcia has no picks in...

If the season ended today, the Broncos would miss the playoffs, which is exactly what will happen when the season does end. Despite what every player on a bubble team says-“if Pittsburgh did it last year, so could we”-a No. 6 seed is most assuredly not winning this year’s Super Bowl. Two reasons. First, Pittsburgh was remarkable precisely because they were rare-no other team ever accomplished what they did. And two, Pittsburgh would have had a much better record had Ben Roethlisberger stayed healthy. None of this year’s sixth-seed contenders match that profile. So even if a surprise team sneaks in (like, say, the Broncos), don’t expect much from them. In any event, the six AFC teams that would make the playoffs today are, in fact, the six best teams in the conference. So how do I rank the AFC’s true contenders? Like this, from worst to best: 6. Cincinnati (8-5) Key stat: They rank 32nd in passing defense. I like: The passing attack, of course, that has the Bengals sixth in the league...

As I mentioned in the comments of the last post, I don’t like how sports and capitalism mix sometimes. You can’t look for sporting news anywhere right now without stumbling across a mention of the NBA switching back to the leather basketball. Shoot, it was even on the ESPN ticker all last night during Monday Night Football. Actually, I almost have to take that back. There is one place where it’s practically a non-issue: NBA.com. Take a look-as of right now, there’s only a tiny link to “Leather Ball Reaction Page,” which I thought would be a list of glowing quotes from ecstatic players. Nope, it’s the press release of the announcement. There are no reactions whatsoever on the page, and the title is really misleading. (I almost didn't click on it since ESPN.com had a similar thing yesterday, but I'm glad I did.) Yes, NBA.com is not the New York Times , but that’s lame. Obviously, the NBA’s ashamed of the switch back for a couple of reasons-for one, the players’ complaints are em...

It's a tired topic at this point, so I'll keep it short. I'm going to argue about the teams, but it's really the system, of course, that's flawed. The real answer for determining a champion is a tournament-you know, like they have for every single other sport. But here's why I don't like the options under the current system. The problem with Florida is that their promotion to the BCS title game seems a little, how shall I say, artifical. Yes, they played a tough schedule and outside of Michigan, they're the only team left anyone can take seriously as No. 2. (Of course, Boise State is undefeated.) But it's a lovely coincidence that they just happened to cement that No. 2 status this weekend. I don't really see how that win over Arkansas proves they're better than the Wolverines. The problem with Michigan is that I can't imagine anything more unfair to the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes. Think about it. If Ohio State had lost to Michig...

1. More on the Broncos in a sec, but if you didn't see, Al Wilson left the game on a stretcher with what the Broncos called a strained neck in the fourth quarter. There's probably more news on this somewhere else by the time you read this. Hope he's okay. 2. I caught a bit of the Giants-Cowboys game-I think this was only the second time I've seen the Giants this year, and I'm already completely sick of them. Anyway, I don't know if you can really see his visor color in this picture, but if Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce ever needs to look up Wheeljack's courage level, he can do it with his helmet on . 3. Speaking of Cowboys-Giants, you know that media savvy star who always whines about not getting the ball enough? What's his name? Tiki Barber? Yeah. He had another killer fumble this afternoon. Maybe Giants fans won't be so sad to see him go. 4. I've got no insight on Rob Bironas' 60-yarder to beat the Colts, but he's my hero. 5....

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...

So it’s not quite Jacksonville-Kansas City-Pittsburgh-Green Bay, but the Broncos are nonetheless coming up on their most exciting four-game stretch in years, and I can’t wait. This Sunday: Indianapolis at Denver. The Broncos host the Colts in Denver’s first real test of the season. (Unless you count the Rams.) The Colts’ perfect 6-0 mark does include road wins against both New York squads, but the horseshoe-shorn squad has already played half its home games. The Colts had an easy early schedule? Could the NFL front office be looking to do them some kind of favor? Indianapolis brings the third-ranked offense (and the fourth in scoring) into the home of the league’s stingiest defenders. But forget the numbers-this matchup is interesting because of certain recent postseason events I’d prefer not to mention. In like fashion, Denver has owned the regular season matchups, but this is the first recent in-season meeting to hold significance for both teams. Nov. 5: At Pittsburgh. After destr...

You’ve probably already heard that the NFL will hold a regular season game in a foreign country next year. (That’s not a first, but the league wants to make it a permanent part of the schedule.) This feels like a big story-for all I know, it led off SportsCenter, which I almost never watch. (For some reason everyone assumes I love ESPN. I guess that makes sense-I do run a sports blog-but still. I guess I just don’t like NASCAR highlights as much as you’d think I do. Or how they always pull that, “Coming up next…” crap when they have an interesting story that won’t air for another forty minutes. A few months back a friend of mine tried to invite herself over to watch some non-World Cup soccer game, because of course I get the Ocho and would have it on. No dice. I’m curious-do any of you guys watch SportsCenter regularly?) Anyway, I don’t much care for the idea, though it wouldn’t have much impact on any one team. The plan would be set up so that teams would rotate over a 16-year period...

Some thoughts from Monday Night Football... 1. I wish T.O. hadn’t been playing last night-sometimes, you just need a break from the guy. That said, he wasn’t the most loathsome player on the field Monday night-I’d take him over Jeremy Shockey, certainly, and probably Eli Manning. And yet, Eli and Shockey were playing the Cowboys . Can you root for both teams to lose? 2. Tiki Barber’s played for New York his whole career, but he’s still underrated. You should watch him while you still can. I’m serious. I can’t quite say why, but I got a feeling watching the game last night that this could be Barber’s last season in the NFL. I haven’t spoken to any Giants, but it just seems right. Call it a hunch. 3. Eli Manning’s first-quarter bomb to Plexiglass Burress was both a wonderful throw and a fantastic catch. When the younger Manning is making smart decisions with the ball, it can be a thing of beauty. When he’s rifling it at a triple-covered Amani Toomer, as he did later in the quarter, then ...

How many bloggers have ever written the words, “I love Microsoft”? I can only think of one . But sometimes love fades. Why? Because Microsoft came out with a new version of Internet Explorer last week, and it doesn’t show Hole Punch Sports properly. It’s not a big thing-the top search bar just overlaps the “Hole Punch Sports” box-but considering I’ve been nothing but a shill for that company, it’s a little weird. (Plus this website doesn’t even have pictures-I don’t know how you screw that up, but I guess they found the one possible way.) There may be an easy fix, but I didn’t find it in several seconds of Googling, so I gave up, especially considering there’s a decent chance Blogger will fix it for me. In the meantime, like my link-mate , I will point you in the direction of some alternatives. (Though I read and recommend the site, I’m not the Mike who commented on that particular post.) I tested this site with Firefox, Opera, Safari, Camino, Mozilla, and Konqueror, and each worked. ...

Game 7 of the NLCS, a do-or-don’t-go-to-the-World-Series game for both the Mets and Cardinals, will start any minute now. (It probably did start by the time this is up, but never underestimate a Fox pre-game show.) Me? I'm watching The Office tonight. I’m not alone. That show rocks. No, that’s not right. I mean I’m not alone in ignoring baseball. (I don't hate the game, but this matchup does nothing for me.) From an AP article : An AP-AOL Sports poll released Thursday shows that only one-third of Americans call themselves fans of professional baseball -- about the level of support for the last decade, but lower than 1990. Remember how boring baseball was in 1990? Me neither. Glad they pointed it out anyway. Some players don’t understand it. Brandon Inge of the World Series-bound Detroit Tigers was surprised to hear that only 32 percent of Americans consider themselves fans. "That sounds a little low to me," the third baseman said. "It's America's pastime....

If Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, and John Elway got together to mentor a quarterback, and he ended up like Ryan Leaf... If Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron took over as hitting coaches, and their best student couldn’t out-hit Neifi Perez... If Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd schooled a student in the art of pinpoint passing, but ended up with Kobe Bryant... ...would any of those be any more pathetic than Jackie Slater and Art Shell coaching Chad Slaughter today? Yes, two of the finest tackles of anyone’s lifetime are the men in charge of motivating and molding the Human False Start. John Madden, a former Raiders coach himself, pointed out late in tonight’s Broncos-Raiders game that Slaughter was actually doing a decent job blocking when he was punctual. I’m pretty sure my man Elvis Dumervil would disagree, but even if it was true, the Raiders still aren’t going to beat anybody anytime soon. Yes, the Chicago Bears are absolutely explosive and it appears, for the time being, that I gro...

1. The Yankees almost made my year . I recently told a friend that Yankees manager Joe Torre was the best manager of the last 20 years. I'm not sure if that's really true, but he's clearly one of the very best in the game. Yes, like the chart on the link shows, he was under .500 at two of his first three jobs. Yes, it's much easier to manage when Mariano Rivera's in the bullpen than when your options don't hold all-time records. And most definitely yes, a monkey could learn the complex system of single-switches required to manage in the American League. So Torre is human. But he's also a great manager and a great fit for New York. Playing for or coaching the Yankees is often treated as some kind of special situation, and there is pressure there, but I'm not sure it's all that tougher than managing in, say, Boston. That said, Torre's done a tremendous job managing the egos of the game's best-known and most-pampered players, while avoiding ...

How about them Broncos! It wasn’t very long into yesterday’s 13-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens that I realized the Broncos, still scoreless, were really in no trouble whatsoever. They’ve been playing slow, defensive-minded games and pulling them out their last two games, so why couldn’t they do it again? It’s easy to call Denver’s new keep-it-close style conservative, but that misses at least half the point. Compared to the offensive firepower the team showcased in recent years, the current gameplan is, in fact, far more risky. What happens when the other team gets the interception before halftime and kills one of our only scoring chances? (I know it's incredible that I could even suggest Jake Plummer messing up like that, but he is only human.) What I can’t tell is whether the grind-it-out style was only an adjustment to the teams we’ve faced or if it’s fast becoming a permanent fixture in the offense. Against Baltimore, it makes sense to take time off the clock, since the only w...

Can you play your way out of the Hall of Fame? That’s the question that comes to my mind lately whenever someone brings up Brett Favre. Favre, of course, is the longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback who won a record three Associated Press league MVP awards. (He shared his final award, in 1997, with Barry Sanders.) He’s also a member of the most elite class of sports heores in America: franchise quarterbacks who’ve won the Super Bowl. His talent was and remains off the charts. Unbelieveable arm strength from any of a thousand release points. Accuracy from the pocket, on the run, falling backwards, or over defenders. Great mobility and improvisation, especially in his younger years. And his toughness-oh my, but we’ll get to that later. Not only that, he’s now considered (if a bit inaccurately) to be the last remaining symbol of loyalty in team sports. He’s certainly had to clout to ask to be traded to a winner for his last few seasons. And, conversely, he’s certainly given his team caus...

1. Javon Walker...wow. Nice run. 2. Speaking of Walker, Madden said that Mike Shanahan likes having a receiver who wants the ball on every play. As opposed to Ashley Lelie, whose catchphrase was, "I'll show you the money!" 3. Tony Scheffler, the rookie tight end, is interesting. One on hand, he clearly has size and ability. On the other, he plays like he just went through a growth spurt and isn't yet coordinated enough for his size. I'm just saying. 4. D.J. Williams destroyed Kevin Faulk near the end of the game, but Faulk just bounced back up. Manly. 5. Stat of the night: I can't believe Mike Shanahan's regular-season winning percentage with Plummer is better than it was with Elway. In Shanahan's first year with Elway the Broncos didn't have much of a team, while Plummer was more of the last piece of a puzzle. But still. That is incredible. Those Super Bowl years really spoiled me, and I'm definitely too hard on the Broncos now. Is this what i...

1. I feel bad for Patriots tackle Matt Light-who's already back in the game-but if I never see another knee injury in a slow-motion replay, I think I'll be okay with that. 2. The Jake Plummer-Mike Shanahan argument after the field-goal drive: Obviously, I don't know what happened, though I enjoyed Madden's incredibly vague take, which basically boiled down to: "Either Mike's mad at Jake, or Jake's mad at Mike, or they're both mad." But Plummer was catching fire on that drive and the Broncos still had room to work with when they switched into pound-the-ball mode. I'm a big fan of the running game, but if I was Plummer, I'd have been ticked, too. When the Patriots answered with a similar drive right after, they kept the ball in Tom Brady's hands throughout (though the Broncos ended up forcing and blocking a field goal). 4. Lawrence Maroney is a beast. Al Wilson got a good-if-not-great hit on him on a shovel pass. Maroney just absorbed it ...

As you've heard, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wade, the reporters who wrote "Game of Shadows", could be heading to prison. This Associated Press story on SI.com has the details in the clearest form I've seen them. In fact, why don't I just quote the first two paragraphs: A federal judge ordered two San Francisco Chronicle reporters jailed Thursday, pending an appeal, for refusing to testify about who leaked them secret grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds and other elite athletes. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada published a series of articles and a book based partly on the leaked transcripts of the testimony of Bonds, Jason Giambi and others before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a Burlingame-based nutritional supplement company exposed as a steroid ring two years ago. Got that? They're not going to jail for telling the truth, and they're not going to jail for writing about the leaked testimony. (I'm not sure...

I almost got hit by a car today. Remember those old "Must Be Football Season" ads? Like the one where office workers celebrated by slapping each other on the butt, or the one where a shopper drops fruit on the floor at the grocery store and everyone dives to try to recover the fumble? Great ads, especially since I can't remember who was running them. (I'm thinking maybe Southwest Airlines, but what does football have to do with flying?) Well, my morning was like that. I work at a university, so I just walk out onto the crosswalk assuming everyone will stop. When I'm driving I hate this, which is why I don't drive on campus. I knew a car was coming, but surely they'd see me. Soon I realized that the car to my left was a Jeep-and not a Wrangler, but a big SUV-and the driver not only wasn't slowing down, he or she was probably speeding up. So I burst forward and instinctively stuck out my left arm, as though I was going to stiff-arm a Jeep. Luckily, for t...