Hole Punch Sports

Woody Paige of the Denver Post (yes, that Woody Paige) wrote in today's paper that the Denver Nuggets should sign Scottie Pippen. My thoughts? The move isn't a "slam dunk" in the basketball vernacular but would probably be a good call. Let's start with the cons, though. First, Pippen is 41 years old and may have nothing left. His last season was 2003-2004-a long time ago by NBA standards-and he put up pretty bad numbers in limited playing time. He was injured much of that year. I assume he's pretty healthy right now, but will that last? And what position would he play with the Nuggets? As a young man, he could play both guard spots and maybe even both forward positions, but I wonder how his speed and lateral quickness have held up. If they haven't, he's stuck at the three, where of course Carmelo Anthony gets the bulk of the minutes. Anthony's not really versatile enough to move to a different position, and Pippen's not enough of an offensive...

With the NFL season over, it’s time for year two of my annual quarterback rankings . Actually, last year the list was of quarterbacks I’d take over Jake Plummer. Since such a list this year would be at least a novella, I’ve changed it to the top twelve quarterbacks. This list is intended to be the best quarterbacks as of today and/or next season. Thus, it won’t correspond perfectly with, say, my list of the best young quarterbacks . Vince Young’s completion percentage, for example, will count against him more here. That said, some predictions are still involved. (For example, will Jake Delhomme and Ben Roethlisberger bounce back?) The winners: 12. Philip Rivers, San Diego. Rivers may deserve a higher spot on this list. I’m just trying not to get too carried away. On the plus side, he’s on a fine team (if they have coaches next year) and has a fantastic arm. On the downside, he’s young and was nothing special in the playoffs. So there’s a chance he won’t be quite so good next year, tho...

1. Congratulations to the Colts. To me, the biggest change they made in this year's postseason compared to past years was emphasizing the running game. Why they didn't do that with the Edge, I'll never know. In their last playoff loss to the Patriots (early 2005), the Colts lost partly because of New England's defense, but the real key was the Pats' ability to control the clock, especially in the second half. In the AFC Championship two weeks ago, the Colts turned the table, and they rode the same formula to success today. 2. The key to any major football championship is surrendering a kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game. 3. What a start for the Bears. First, Devin Hester takes it to the house with a breathtaking return. (Okay, now seriously, of course you'd take the touchdown-but it's too bad it came so early, because Indy was so cautious kicking the rest of the way. Would two long returns that weren't touchdowns have been better?) Indy got ...

At the end of tonight's Super Bowl, there was a commercial for the NFL. It showed all the fans putting away their team gear, washing off their body paint, and saying goodbye to football. At the end, we saw Brett Favre, and the ad closed with something about how it's harder for some to say goodbye. (As you should know, Favre is coming back to play next season.) Unlike many bloggers, I'm not part of the anti-Favre backlash of recent years. If he can still play-and he can, even if he's not an MVP candidate -and he wants to, why not? Good for him. I did see the end of his last game against the Bears. There he was at the end, one of the most exciting and daring players I've seen, with a grey head of hair, choking up about how much he'd miss his teammates if he left...honestly, it was cool. It was probably my favorite part of the year. Favre will surely go down as either the best or second-best quarterback in the game today. Plus, I can't deny admiring Favre...

My Super Bowl prediction last year (go ’Hawks!) was made completely out of spite. Might as well keep the tradition alive. Denver’s head coach (a.k.a. "the Mastermind") finally solved the puzzle; the Broncos did not lose to the Colts in this year’s playoffs. Nevertheless, I still loathe Indy’s NFL squad and predict the Bears will win. In fact, they will win 23-17. I really have no idea who will win. It seems everyone thinks the Bears have no chance, though, which isn’t the case. Two reasons: The Bears are better than advertised. The Bears are nearly a complete team. You already know about the defense and rookie Devin Hester, already the league’s best returner. The offensive line plays well whenever I see them, helping transform Thomas Jones, a famous bust, into a solid running back. Yes, Rex Grossman is hot-and-cold. But everyone seems to be forgetting the “hot” part of that. He’s not on every week, but when he is, he throws a gorgeous deep ball and the Bears strike quickly....

I’m really excited to write my next annual NFL quarterback rankings, but I have to wait until after the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning and Rex Grossman could each move way up or down depending on that game. To tide myself over, I present my rankings of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. What’s young? 26 and under. (Yep, that’s pretty arbitrary, but 27-year-olds like David Carr, Byron Leftwich, and Carson Palmer felt a little too familiar for this list.) 1. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (24). Roethlisberger did not have a good year, and there are so many ways to express that. For one: he had only six games where he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. For two: he managed to throw more than half of his career interceptions this season, even though he missed a game. For three: he went through someone’s windshield. Considering the injury, it’s not surprising he had such a bad year. Obviously, I’m betting he’ll bounce back. His first two years in the league are so far ahead...

They probably do. No idea why. But what other conclusion can I draw when the team elects to celebrate its biggest game of the year (the return of Carmelo) by starting Steve Blake? I feel like I was too easy on the Nuggets for the acquistion of Blake or, more appropriately, for the disacquistion of Earl Boykins. Boykins was everything a team would want in a bench player, with all the strut of a superstar. The team tried to spin Blake's arrival as a positive, as he gave the Nuggets something they'd missed for years-a pass-first, push-the-tempo point guard. Unfortunately, Blake's buzz cut calls to mind an obvious comparison for Nuggets fans-he's Jon Barry, minus the talent. (That is not a compliment.) (Besides, the need for a little man skilled at passing seemed filled when we traded for that other guard last month.) Anyway, it's hardly Blake's fault the Nuggets organization only pretends to care about winning. The bigger story tonight was /is (the game's ...